Background/Aim. The shortcomings of the orthopantomography (OPG) method and radiographic misinterpretations may lead to poor treatment planning and complications during or after the third molar extraction. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of OPG findings concerning post-extraction wisdom tooth root morphology, as well as whether the degree of clinical expertise affects assessment accuracy. Methods. The cross-sectional study included 200 patients who were referred for third molar extraction. Preoperative OPGs were evaluated by examiners classified by their level of experience into three groups: students, residents, and professors. True root morphologies were recorded after the extraction, and the accuracy of the assessment was evaluated using various statistical tests. Results. The majority of assessments were accurate for the lower and upper third molars with a single root. The professor group was the most accurate when compared to the other two groups (p = 0.0015). Weighted Kappa values for intra-respondent accuracy gradually increased from the student to professor group (0.06, 0.28, 0.34, respectively). The highest discrepancy in inter-respondent accuracy was determined between the student and professor groups (poor; ?w = 0.25584). Conclusion. In this study are not achieved results which confirm reliability of panoramic acquisition for detection of accurate third molars root morphology. The level of clinical experience affects diagnostic accuracy, but complex clinical cases should be evaluated by different methods.

Introduction/Objective. The correct choice of local anesthesia should consider the simplest technique to perform, with maximum anesthesia and minimal discomfort for the patient. The objectives of this research were to determine the efficacy of the modified in comparison to the standard Vazirani-Akinosi technique and to compare techniques regarding clinically relevant parameters. Methods. The research was conducted at the Clinic for Oral Surgery, School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade. A prospective, randomized, single-blinded clinical trial included sixty patients scheduled for surgical extraction of mandibular third molars. The first group of patients was anesthetized using mVAt, while the second group received anesthesia using VAt. Pain during injection, onset time, duration of anesthesia, and width of the anesthetized area were evaluated parameters. Results. Out of 60 performed injections, 42 were successful, which proved to be statistically significant in comparison to 18 unsuccessful injections (p = 0.047). The failure rate of BN anesthesia was statistically significantly lower in mVAt group (p = 0.030). There was no statistically significant difference among groups considering pain (p = 0.114), onset time (p = 0.370) and duration of anesthesia (p = 0.628). Conclusion. Modified VA technique proved to be more successful regarding BN anesthesia. Considering other examined clinical parameters, both techniques showed similar performance.