Angulations Of Impacted Mandibular Third Molar : A Radiographic Study in Saveetha Dental College

Aim : The aim of this study is to evaluate the angulation of impacted mandibular third molars and also to evaluate the most common sex affected . Objective: To determine which angulation is more common in impaction To determine the prevalence of mandibular third molar impaction based on gender Materials and Methodology: The study was conducted on 110 subjects which consists of 58 males and 52 females. The study was conducted with orthopantomograms collected from the people who came to saveetha dental college situated in poonamalle, Chennai. The orthopantomograms were traced and the study was done for a period of three months. After three months, the data which was collected were analysed. Results and Conclusion: According to the data analysed, the most common angulation in impacted mandibular third molar is mesially angulated tooth and the most common gender affected by mandibular third molar impaction is male population INTRODUCTION: Tooth impaction has been a common phenomenon nowadays. Tooth impaction is a pathological situation in which a tooth is unable to erupt into its normal functioning position due to lack of space. :. The impaction can be mesioangular, distoangular, horizontal, transverse or vertically angulated .It is often associated with pain, pericoronitis, root resorption, cystic lesions, etc. (1) (2) However, there is considerable variation in the prevalence and distribution of impacted teeth in different regions of the jaw. Factors affecting the prevalence can be the age-group, timing of dental eruption, and the radiographic criteria for dental development and eruption. Various classifications have been given on impacted teeth such as WINTER'S classification, PELL AND GREGORY'S classification, KILLEY AND KAY, ARCHER'S classification of impacted maxillary teeth, etc. Winter's classification is classified based on the inclination of the impacted tooth to the long axis of the second molar into distoangular, mesioangular, horizontal, vertical and transverse. This classification is used for the study as it is simple and easily understandable.(3) Although removal of impacted third molars is the most common oral surgical procedure, many investigators have raised up question for the necessity of removal for asymptomatic patients. (2)(5) Such comments are based on the view that long-term retention of impacted teeth has little risk of pathological change in the tooth itself, or of adverse effects on adjacent structures. The aim of this study is to evaluate the position of impacted third molars and also to evaluate the most common sex affected using the Winters classification. (4) MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted for 110 subjects who came to saveetha dental college for dental treatment. Among the subjects, 58 were males and 52 were females. The study was conducted with orthopantomograms collected from the people who came to saveetha dental college situated in poonamalle. The orthopantomograms were traced and the study was done for a period of three months. After three months, the data which was collected was analysed. Consecutive panoramic radiographs and clinical records of 110 patients who attended the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital between March 2015 to May 2015 were retrieved for this study. The minimum age for inclusion was 17 years because the accepted view is that third molars normally start to erupt by that age. Patients referred to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from external sources for major pathologies associated with third molars were excluded from this study. A tooth was defined as impacted when the tooth was obstructed on its path of eruption by an adjacent tooth, bone, or soft tissue. A tooth was defined as embedded if it was covered by bone but no adjacent tooth was obstructing its eruption path. When an impacted third molar was identified, the presence/absence and development/ eruption of the patient’s other third molars were also assessed. The depth of impaction was measured using Winter’s lines, while the angulation of impaction was measured using long axes of the impacted and adjacent teeth, WINTER’S classification As described by Schersten et al. 5 Pathologies associated with impacted teeth included: (1) caries of the impacted and/or adjacent teeth; (2) periodontal bone loss of the adjacent tooth of more than 5 mm below the cementoenamel junction; (3) root resorption of the adjacent tooth; and (4) an increase in the pericoronal space of the dental follicle of more than 4 mm around the impacted tooth. Although it is possible to M.P. Santhosh Kumar et al /J. Pharm. Sci. & Res. Vol. 7(11), 2015, 981-983