Experience versus complication rate in third molar surgery

OBJECTIVES The records of 1087 patients who underwent surgical removal of third molar teeth were prospectively examined to analyse the possible relationship between postoperative complications and the surgeon's experience parameter. METHOD AND MATERIALS Seven surgeons (three specialists in surgical dentistry [specialists SD] and four oral and maxillofacial Senior House Officers [OMFS residents]) carried out the surgical procedures. For each patient, several variables were recorded including age, gender, radiographic position of extracted teeth, treating surgeon, duration of surgery and postoperative complications. RESULTS Analysis of the data revealed some differences in the incidence of complications produced by the specialists SD and OMFS residents. The main statistically relevant differences were increase the incidences of trismus, nerve paraesthesia, alveolar osteitis and infection in the resident-treated group, while the specialist-treated group showed higher rates of post-operative bleeding. CONCLUSION The higher rate of postoperative complications in the resident-treated group suggests that at least some of the complications might be related to surgical experience. Further work needs to compare specialists of training programmes with different years of experience, using large cross - sectional studies.