FIVE-YEAR RADIOGRAPHIC FOLLOW-UP OF ASYMPTOMATIC IMPACTED THIRD MOLAR TEETH WITH COMPLETED APICAL ROOT DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Third molar teeth can stay impacted due to systemic factors, space deficiency, pathology or an anatomical obstacle. The positions, angles, follicle sizes, and impaction statuses of impacted third molars can change over time. The purpose of this study is to investigate changes in the position, inclination, angle, and follicular width of impacted third molars at the end of a 5-year follow-up on panoramic radiographs. Retrospective analyses of a total of 98 impacted third molar teeth were carried out on panoramic radiographs taken at 5-year intervals for 31 patients who presented to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology at Faculty of Dentistry for various reasons between 2013 and 2021. The mean angle of the examined impacted third molars with the occlusal plane was 26.725±27.31° at the beginning of the 5-year follow-up and 26.399±28.46° at the end of the follow-up. There was a 5° angular change(inclination) in 4(8.2%) impacted molars. In the examinations of the panoramic radiographs taken at 5-year intervals, no pathologic change around any impacted third molar or resorption in neighboring teeth was observed. There were inclination changes in 2(4%) of the impacted molars and position changes in 11(22.4%). The changes may be occur in the position, inclination, angle, and follicular width of asymptomatic impacted teeth in time. It is important that asymptomatic impacted teeth can be followed radiographically to evaluate the effects of changes in position, inclination, angle and follicle width over time on the impacted tooth and surrounding tissues and to prevent complications that may occur after a possible impacted third molar extraction.