Surgical Extraction of Unerupted Third Molars
The procedure of removing not fully formed (unerupted or impacted) third molars is called surgical extraction of impacted third molars or simply third molar extraction. 1
Terminology and Definition
An impacted tooth is defined as one that fails to erupt in the oral cavity within the expected developmental window, or a tooth that is partially or not erupted with clinical, anatomical, and radiological signs suggesting correct eruption is unlikely. 1
Extraction of impacted third molars is the most commonly performed procedure in oral surgery, particularly in Europe where impaction of third molars occurs in more than 70% of young adults. 1
The term applies regardless of whether the tooth is soft tissue impacted (covered only by gingival tissue) or bony impacted (partially or completely encased in bone). 2
Clinical Context
Third molars are the most frequently impacted teeth in normal permanent dentition, followed by upper canines, premolars, and upper central incisors. 1
The procedure is uniformly accepted when teeth are associated with pathologic processes including caries, nonrestorable teeth, fractured roots, resorption, cysts, tumors, periapical abscesses, odontogenic infections, or osteomyelitis. 3
Surgical removal (as opposed to simple extraction) is required when the tooth cannot be removed with forceps alone and necessitates flap development, bone removal, luxation, sectioning, and closure. 4