ObjectivesThe purpose of present
article was to review impacted mandibular third molar aetiology, clinical
anatomy, radiologic examination, surgical treatment and possible complications,
as well as to create new mandibular third molar impaction and extraction
difficulty degree classification based on anatomical and radiologic findings
and literature review results.Material and MethodsLiterature
was selected through a search of PubMed, Embase and Cochrane electronic
databases. The keywords used for search were mandibular third molar, impacted
mandibular third molar, inferior alveolar nerve injury third molar, lingual
nerve injury third molar. The search was restricted to English language
articles, published from 1976 to April 2013. Additionally, a manual search
in the major anatomy and oral surgery journals and books was performed.
The publications there selected by including clinical and human anatomy
studies.ResultsIn total 75 literature
sources were obtained and reviewed. Impacted mandibular third molar aetiology,
clinical anatomy, radiographic examination, surgical extraction of and possible
complications, classifications and risk factors were discussed. New mandibular
third molar impaction and extraction difficulty degree classification based
on anatomical and radiologic findings and literature review results was
proposed.ConclusionsThe classification
proposed here based on anatomical and radiological impacted mandibular third
molar features is promising to be a helpful tool for impacted tooth assessment
as well as for planning for surgical operation. Further clinical studies
should be conducted for new classification validation and reliability evaluation.