A BSTRACT Introduction: The third molar is the most frequently impacted tooth with a frequency of occurrence generally reported to be from 18 to 32%. It is considered impacted when its eruption into normal functional occlusion has been interfered with by other teeth, overlying bone or soft tissue and when it is not fully erupted by its expected age of around 20 years. Racial differences affect the pattern of impaction. There is a lacunae of literature on the pattern of mandibular third molar impaction in Tamil population. Aim: To investigate the prevalence of pattern of third molar impaction among the population in Madurai. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The first 1000 OPGs (Orthopantamograms) were taken at the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, CSI College of Dental Sciences and Research from August to December 2018 of Madurai population aged between 20 and 40 years old. Data include angle, level and position of impaction, proximity to inferior alveolar nerve and dental caries in second molar and/or third molar. Results: The average age of subject with mandibular third molar impaction is 30.5 years. The most common occurring mandibular impaction is mesioanglar (60%), Level A (71%), Class II (50%) without involving the inferior alveolar nerve (33%) and dental caries in 20% of second and/ or third molar. Conclusion: Mandibular third molar impactions are one of the common developmental condition in this modern civilization. Assessing the third molar and prognosis of its eruption is mandatory for better patient management because of numerous complications associated with unerupted third molar.

A BSTRACT Aim: To determine the preponderance and the distribution of pathological lesions in oral and maxillofacial region reported in and around the Madurai city. Study Design: Retrospective study on the oral and maxillofacial biopsies taken during 11 years period from 2007 to 2018 in a CSI Dental College, Madurai, Tamilnadu. A total of 1000 cases were analyzed and 904 were selected. The parameters recorded were age, sex, area, and the histopathological report obtained. Descriptive statistics was used for analysis. Result: The most common soft tissue lesion was traumatic fibroma (16.1%) and the prevalent hard tissue lesion was periapical cyst (12.7%). The more common oral malignant tumour observed was squamous cell carcinoma (7.3%) and benign tumor was ameloblastoma (5.3%). The frequently affected sites were mandible (36.1%) and buccal mucosa (19.8%). There was more predilection among male than females. The frequency of lesion is common in age group of 31-60 years. A considerable similarity was observed between age, type of lesion and its location. Conclusions: This study evaluated chronic periapical lesions were the most common hard tissue lesions and fibromas in soft tissue category. The idea of this histopathological study concludes on the requirement for biopsy to rule out type of the lesion and its severity to start up the earlier management.