Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume 67, Issue 4 , Pages 771-774, April 2009

Assessment of Difficulty in Third Molar Surgery—A Systematic Review

  • Oladimeji A. Akadiri, BDS

      Affiliations

    • Lecturer/Consultant, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Port-Harcourt, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Akadiri: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Port-Harcourt, Choba/Alakahia, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
    • ,
  • Ambrose E. Obiechina, BDS

      Affiliations

    • Professor, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Dean, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Port-Harcourt, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Purpose

The aim of this review was to identify the most important variables that determine surgical difficulty of impacted third molar extractions by their consistent showing in previous studies.

Materials and Methods

Electronic library search for current evidence in the world literature was conducted, and relevant articles were selected, scrutinized, and the findings were compared.

Results

Seven articles were most relevant, and the results of the comparison of the selected articles showed that demographic variable, age; operative variables: surgeon procedure type and number of teeth extracted; and ratiographic variable, depth angulation; and root morphology, are the most consistent determinants of difficulty.

Conclusion

Current evidence is in support of 3 categoreis of variables strongly associated with surgical diffulty of impacted third molars. The most important variables in each of these categories have been identified.

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

PII: S0278-2391(08)01393-1

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2008.08.010

Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume 67, Issue 4 , Pages 771-774, April 2009

Article Tools