Effects Of Impacted Lower Third Molar Removal On Alveolar Bone Height And Periodontal Parameters On Adjacent Second Molar

The effect of surgical third molar removal on the periodontal parameters at distal sites of second molar revealed inconsistent results.Clinical parameters and radiographic parameter; alveolar bone height (ABH) were studied between six to 24 months post-surgery. Thirty-three subjects who had mesio-angular or horizontal impaction of third molar with available previous records of digital orthopantomogram (OPG) were recruited into the study. ABH of adjacent second molar on the previous OPG were compared with the current OPG. Probing pocket depth (PPD), bleeding on probing (BOP), recession (REC) were also recorded. ABH distal to second molar showed significant improvement as shown in reduced cementoenamel junction to alveolar bone crest (CEJ-ABC) distance from 4.3mm±1.9 pre-operative to 2.80mm±2.05 post-operative (p<0.001). No significant difference was found in ABH between 47 and 37 at baseline;(4.09±1.09mm vs 4.30±2.55mm) and post-surgery (3.00±2.20mm vs 2.70±2.35mm) where p<0.423. Distal sites of second molars consistently showed significantly higher mean PPD (3.76±1.32mm) when compared with mesial, mid buccal and mid lingual sites (p<0.001).Higher frequency of BOP(90.9%) were also recorded for distal sites. Surgical removal of impacted third molars demonstrated significant gain in ABH of second molar post surgically. Significantly deeper PPD were also recorded at distal sites as compared to other sites.