Risk factor analysis for perioperative complications in impacted third molar surgery - a single center experience

BackgroundThe surgical removal of impacted third molars is usually carried out by an oral/maxillofacial surgeon. Two specific risks of surgical removal of impacted third molars are oroantral communication (OAC) when extracting upper third molars and hypesthesia of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) when extracting lower third molars. The aim of this study is to determine the distribution of complications in deeply impacted third molar surgery, to identify specific risk factors influencing the most common perioperative (OAC, IAN hypesthesia) and to compare these results with other studies.Materials and methodsThe clinical findings, digital panoramic radiographs, intra- and postoperative data of 80 patients with a total of 232 impacted third molars that had been subjected for tooth extraction, from December 2022 and August 2023, were collected and analyzed. Perioperative complications (IAN hypesthesia, OAC, hypesthesia lingual nerve, postoperative bleeding, postoperative infection) were identified. A risk analysis for OAC and IAN hypesthesia was performed regarding perioperative data.ResultsOverall, the rate of OAC for the right upper third molar was 12.8% and for the left upper third molar 15.6%. The complication rates regarding transient hypesthesia were 8.1% for the left IAN and 7.3% for the right IAN. The distance to maxillary sinus, the depth score according to Pell and Gregory, the bone coverage score, the operation time, the tooth's angulation and the type of surgeon (oral surgeon, DMD) were identified as significant risk factors for the occurrence of OAC. The minimum distance to IAN, the bone coverage score, the total operation time and the operation by an oral surgeon (DMD) were identified as significant risk factors for hypesthesia of the IAN.ConclusionNext to the risk factors from above, the present study is one of the first showing that patients who were primarily operated on by an oral surgeon (DMD) and not a maxillofacial surgeon (MD, DMD) showed higher rates of OAC and IAN hypesthesia in impacted third molar extraction. The results of this study can serve as a baseline for further studies to investigate complication patterns in impacted third molar surgery.