Radiographic and clinical manifestations of the impacted mandibular third molar.

Observations were made on 200 impacted mandibular third molars that were removed from 200 unselected patients under local anesthesia. Sixty percent of the teeth were found to be in apparent relationship with the inferior dental canal: 19 % in true relationship and 41 % in superimposition. The vertical impacted molars were mainly found to be in true relationship with the inferior dental canal. On comparison of the clinical postoperative diagnosis with the radiographic preoperative findings an error of only 0.8 % was shown. Most of the molars showed fully developed roots in the third decade of life. Most of the teeth in this series were vertically impacted having mostly fully developed roots. There was a significant correlation between the patients suffering from pain, trismus, and swelling. Swelling and trismus were the mostly affected postoperative sequelae.