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Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic

Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic · 강남레옹치과의원 공식블로그 · May 19, 2025

Hello, this is Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic😊 Today, we’d like to talk about a case in which a wisdom tooth was extracted while leaving the roots behind. When having a wisdom tooth r...

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This page is an English translation of a Korean Naver Blog archive entry. For exact wording and source context, verify against the Korean archive original and the original Naver post.

Clinic: Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic

Original post date: May 19, 2025

Translated at: April 20, 2026 at 4:28 PM

Medical note: This translation does not guarantee medical accuracy or suitability for treatment decisions.

Hello, this is Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic😊

Today, we’d like to talk about a case in which a wisdom tooth was extracted while leaving the roots behind.

When having a wisdom tooth removed,

many people may wonder,

"Can the roots really be left behind?"

"Is it okay if the roots are left in?"

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 1

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic

Leaving wisdom tooth roots behind:

Intentional coronectomy

The goal is to remove the wisdom tooth completely,

but as written in the extraction consent form,

there are cases where the wisdom tooth roots must be intentionally left behind for treatment purposes.

This is called an intentional coronectomy,

and the reasons are as follows.

✅ When the roots are severely curved

✅ When the roots are very close to the nerve canal

✅ When the roots are firmly attached to the jawbone

✅ When a large amount of jawbone would need to be removed

Considering a coronectomy means

that the wisdom tooth is deeply impacted,

and the roots are left behind mainly to avoid these risks

when there is concern about nerve damage.

If the nerve is accidentally touched,

sensory changes in the face may occur,

and in severe cases, paralysis may develop.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 2

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic

So the question is whether

leaving the roots like this

will cause problems later on.

🔻

To get straight to the point,

if there are no signs of inflammation,

in most cases there is no need to worry.

The remaining wisdom tooth roots

will become covered by the jawbone during the healing process.

Over time, they may be absorbed into the jawbone

or may emerge upward from the jawbone.

Roots of about 2–3 mm with no inflammation

are not a problem,

and if inflammation develops later, they are removed.

Of course, there are also cases in which a coronectomy is not possible.

A specialist carries out the procedure

with those criteria and principles in mind.

If you have discomfort after the extraction?

As mentioned earlier,

even if the roots are left behind,

there is usually no major problem.

However, if you feel discomfort,

we recommend removing the remaining roots.

When only the wisdom tooth root remains,

a further extraction is more difficult.

It was left behind for various reasons,

and since only the root portion remains,

it is not easy to remove with instruments.

This patient had wisdom tooth extraction at another dental clinic, but because the nerve canal was close,

the procedure was completed with the roots left behind.

The marked area shows the root

remaining close to the nerve canal.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 3 Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 4

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic

One month after the extraction, the extraction site felt uncomfortable,

so the patient wanted the remaining roots removed

and visited Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 5

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic

On CT as well, the remaining root

appeared to be very close to the nerve canal,

so we decided to carefully extract it

after accurately determining the distance.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 6

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic

Fortunately, all the roots were removed successfully,

and after the extraction, we took an X-ray

to check whether any fragments remained.

Although the extraction was performed according to the exact plan,

it is necessary to check for one week

whether any later nerve damage symptoms appear.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 7

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic

After one week, the recovery was good,

and everything was normal with no nerve damage. Today, we looked at wisdom tooth extraction where the roots were left behind. To avoid nerve damage, the wisdom tooth roots that were close to the nerve were intentionally left in place.

This was done intentionally by a specialist,

and in most cases it passes without discomfort,

but if discomfort does arise,

we identify various possibilities

and remove the remaining roots.

If you have any questions about this,

please feel free to leave a comment anytime!

Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic Integrated Anterior Tooth Treatment, New Teeth From enamel spot treatment to gum grafting, tooth shaping, gum contouring, teeth whitening, gum whitening, anterior resin treatment, orthodontics, and New Teeth Lami, this is integrated anterior tooth treatment.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 8 Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 9 Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 10 Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 11 Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 12 Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 13 Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 14 Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leaving the Roots Behind? / Gangnam Station Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gangnam Leon Dental Clinic image 15

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