Assessing current clinical eruption stage of mandibular third molars by dental panoramic radiography
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2340/aos.v83.40477Keywords:
Molar, Third, Radiography, Panoramic, Tooth Eruption, Tooth, Unerupted, Diagnosis, OralAbstract
Objective: We examined whether dental panoramic radiography (PAN) can be used to identify the clinical stage of eruption of mandibular third molars at the time of radiological examination.
Materials and methods: Cross-sectional data included records from clinical oral examination and PANs of university students. In the retrospective analysis of 345 mandibular third molars in 189 participants (20% men, 80% women; mean age 20.7 years; standard deviation [SD] ± 0.6), clinical stages of eruption were compared with their radiographic depth in bone, inclination, and root development. Statistics included χ2, Mann-Whitney U tests, and logistic regression.
Results: Significant (p < 0.001) predictor variables for assessing the clinical stage of eruption were radiographic depth in bone and inclination. All teeth radiologically at a depth of the cementoenamel (CE) junction of the neighbouring second molar or deeper were clinically unerupted. Above the CE junction, 80% of vertical and 97% of distoangular teeth were connected to the oral cavity, and 82% of mesioangular and 69% of horizontal teeth were clinically unerupted.
Conclusion: All teeth below or at the CE junction are clinically unerupted. Above the CE junction, stage of eruption should be assessed together with the inclination, but horizontally inclined teeth are recommended to be verified clinically.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Tommi Vesala, Irja Ventä, Johanna Snäll, Magdalena Marinescu Gava, Marja Ekholm
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Acta Odontologica Scandinavica publishes original research papers as well as critical reviews relevant to the diagnosis, epidemiology, health service, prevention, aetiology, pathogenesis, pathology, physiology, microbiology, development and treatment of diseases affecting tissues of the oral cavity and associated structures including papers on cause and effect or explanatory/associative relationships for experimental or observational studies.
