Objective: To determine the frequency of mandibular third molar impaction in different vertical skeletal facial types.
Methodology: Data was collected using pre-treatment records including orthodontic files, pre-treatment lateral cephalograms and OPGs of 90 orthodontic patients. Patients from both genders were included. The age group of selected patients was 18-30 years. Vertical skeletal malocclusion was measured using facial angle and mandibular plane angle on cephalogram to group the subjects into Mesiofacial, Brachyfacial and Dolichofacial patients. Third molar eruption status was assessed using OPG.
Results: Results showed that erupted third molars were mostly found in brachyfacial patients. Among 32 erupted mandibular third molars, 16 belong to brachyfacial, 11 belonged to mesiofacial and 5 belonged to dolichofacial group. Complete impaction of mandibular third molar was most common among dolichofacial patients. Among 29 completely impacted mandibular third molars, 14 belong to dolichofacial, 9 belonged to mesiofacial and 6 belonged to brachyfacial group. No significant difference was found for partially impacted third molars among the three groups of facial types. There was higher prevalence of mandibular third molar impaction in females as compared to males.
Conclusion: Frequency of third molar impaction was found to be highest in dolichofacial patients and lowest in brachyfacial patients due to forward direction of mandibular growth contributing to greater resorption of the anterior border of ramus and the additional space required for third molar eruption.
Key words: Third molar impaction, Mesiofacial, Brachyfacial, Dolichofacial
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