Incidence of symptoms in previously symptom-free impacted lower third molars assessed in general dental practice

Fernandes, Marcelo José; Ogden, Graham S.; Pitts, Nigel; Ogston, Simon; Ruta, Danny

doi:10.1038/sj.bdj.2009.804

Cited by 23 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The mean age of patients with impactions as was found in this study was slightly higher compared to reports from Europe and America [3,20]. This might be explained by the fact that in those countries impactions are discovered during routine dental examinations which start at younger ages [28-30]. On the other hand in resource poor countries and for Tanzania in particular, majority of the patients report for health care only after experiencing symptoms that lead to a certain degree of incapacitation which varies from mild to severe pain, swellings, trismus or fever.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Pattern of occurrence and treatment of impacted teeth at the Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

2013

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BackgroundImpacted teeth predispose to periodontal disease and dental caries of adjacent teeth resulting in pain, discomfort and loss of function. This study analyzed the pattern of occurrence of impacted teeth, associated symptoms, treatment and complications of treatment in patients who presented at the Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania.MethodThis was a crossectional descriptive study which utilized notes and x rays of patients who were treated for impacted teeth at the Oral and Maxillofacial firm in Muhimbili National Hospital over five years, from January 2005 to August 2010. These records were retrieved and examined for the major complaint of the patient at presentation to hospital, demography, impacted tooth, type of impaction (for third molars), treatment offered and complications after treatment. Similar information was collected from all patients with impacted teeth attended in the same centre from 1st September 2010 to 31st August 2011.ResultsA total of 896 patients (496 males and 400 females) treated for complaints related to impacted teeth were recorded. The male to female ratio was 1.2:1, age range of 16 to 85 years and a mean age of 28.9 years (SD = 9.5).Slightly more than 84% of the patients presented with mandibular third molar impactions. Most (44.7%) of these patients had an impacted lower right third molar followed by those presenting with a lower left third molar impaction (39.7%). In 1.3% of the patients all the four third molars were impacted. Sixty nine (7.7%) patients had impacted upper 3rd molars while 2% had impacted upper canines. Of the mandibular 3rd molar impactions 738 (76%) were mesio-angular type, 87 (8.9%) horizontal type and 69 (7.1%) disto-angular.Patients presented with a variety of complaints. About 85% of the patients presented to hospital due to varying degrees of pain. In 4.9% the detection of the impacted tooth/teeth was coincidental after presenting to hospital for other reasons not related to the impaction.Majority of the patients with impacted mandibular third molars had carious lesions on the impacted teeth, neighbouring tooth or both. Four hundred and five (45.2%) patients had a carious lesion on one of the impacted teeth while 201(22.4%) patients had a carious lesion on the adjacent second molar. In 122 (13.6%) patients both the impacted third molar and the adjacent second molar were carious. In twelve patients who presented with a main complaint of fracture of the angle of the mandible there was an associated impacted 3rd molar. Eight hundred and fifteen (91%) patients with impacted teeth were treated by surgical removal. Among these only 15 (1.8%) had complications that ranged from excessive swellings, trismus and severe pain post operatively. One patient was reported to have fracture of the angle of the mandible sustained during surgical removal of an impacted 48.ConclusionsThe majority of patients with impacted teeth were young with an almost equal sex distribution. The most commonly impacted teeth were mandibular third molars followed by the maxillary third...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Pattern of occurrence and treatment of impacted teeth at the Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

2013

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“…The literature shows that tooth impaction is a frequent phenomenon; 3–14 however, there is considerable variation in the prevalence and distribution of impacted teeth in different regions of the jaw 4–14 . Factors affecting the prevalence include the selected age group, timing of dental eruption, and the radiographic criteria for dental development and eruption.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of impacted teeth in a Greek population

Gisakis

Palamidakis²,

Farmakis

et al. 2011

J of Invest & Clin Dent

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The third molars revealed the highest frequency of impaction (P<0.001); the number of impacted teeth of the mandible was larger than that of the maxilla (P<0.001), and the number of impacted anterior teeth in the maxilla was larger than that in the mandible (P<0.001). Cases of impacted posterior teeth were more numerous than anterior teeth (P<0.001). The majority of patients revealed pathological signs, which dictated the surgical removal of the impacted tooth/teeth.

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“…Tooth-related pain is strongly correlated with untreated dental disease (dental decay); in addition, fractured teeth and exposed dentin due to attrition, erosion, and abrasion may also cause pain. Impacted third molars also cause pain; 23 % of partially erupted impacted third molars develop pain symptoms compared to 10 % of unerupted [ 12 ]. It is also reported that tooth-related disease and pain in children are inversely associated with educational levels of parents [ 13 , 14 ] as well as educational levels of individuals [ 15 , 16 ].…”

Section: Tooth-related Orofacial Painmentioning

confidence: 95%