Mandibular wisdom teeth impactions and the risk factors that are associated with complications following surgery

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the pattern of impacted mandibular teeth among a Ghanaian population, as well as the prevalence and risk factors for complications following their surgical removal.

Design: A descriptive retrospective study

Setting: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Ghana Dental School and the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana.

Subjects: Medical records of patients who had surgical extraction of lower third molars done.

Main outcome measures: Variables obtained included sex, age, Winter’s classification of impaction, Class and Depth of tooth, Root morphology, and the modified Parant scale. Other variables were the indication for extraction, difficulty grade (Kharma scale), the presence of complications at review, and whether the present management accounted for the first visit to a dentist.

Results: There was a total of 258 people included in the study. This consisted of 101 (39.1%) males and 157 (60.9%) females. Ranging from 18 to 74 years, the mean age was 29.6±9.4 years. Most impactions (47.3%) of the mandibular wisdom teeth were mesioangular. Recurrent pericoronitis was the most common reason for surgery, accounting for 115 (44.6%) of the study population. The occurrence of complications following the extraction of a mandibular wisdom tooth was found to vary significantly by the difficulty grade (p=0.021).

Conclusion: Mesioangular impactions were the most common types of third molar impaction, while about 18% of patients had varying complaints following management. Kharma scale was found to be significantly associated with the occurrence of complications following surgical extractions.