Dodson Thomas B
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2012 Sep;70(9 Suppl 1):S4-7. doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2012.04.038.
The purpose of this report was to summarize the frequencies of third molars (M3s) in general and asymptomatic, disease-free M3s specifically. Estimates of M3 prevalence range so widely (ie, 6.0% to 96%) as to be of little use. The estimates vary depending on definitions, age, clinical versus radiographic assessment, and patient versus population samples. For patient management, it may be more valuable to estimate the prevalence of M3s grouped by clinical rather than anatomic status. Many times, however, M3s are categorized simply as asymptomatic. In many pathologic processes, from cancer to cardiovascular disease, the term asymptomatic does not equal an absence of disease. As such, M3s should be categorized based on symptom and disease status. Subjects with all M3s asymptomatic and absent of disease ranged from 12% in a sample of patients referred for M3 evaluation to 29% in a nonpatient volunteer sample. In the patient sample, 37% of the M3s evaluated were asymptomatic and free of disease.
本报告的目的是总结第三磨牙（M3）的总体发生率，特别是无症状、无疾病的M3的发生率。M3患病率的估计范围非常广泛（即6.0%至96%），几乎没有什么用处。这些估计因定义、年龄、临床评估与影像学评估以及患者样本与总体样本的不同而有所差异。对于患者管理而言，按临床状态而非解剖状态对M3的患病率进行估计可能更有价值。然而，很多时候，M3仅仅被归类为无症状。在从癌症到心血管疾病的许多病理过程中，“无症状”一词并不等同于没有疾病。因此，M3应根据症状和疾病状态进行分类。在接受M3评估的患者样本中，所有M3均无症状且无疾病的受试者比例从12%到非患者志愿者样本中的29%不等。在患者样本中，接受评估的M3有37%无症状且无疾病。
