A LONG-TERM, FOLLOW-UP, RADIOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF ASYMPTOMATIC IMPACTED 3RD MOLARS IN ORTHODONTICALLY TREATED PATIENTS

Long-term follow-up orthopantomographs of 251 adult orthodontically tr eated former patients showed 113 clinically asymptomatic impacted thir d molars in 58 patients. Radiographic assessment revealed contact of i mpacted third molars with the second molars, resorption of maxillary a nd mandibular second molars, and reduced bone height on the distal sid e of the maxillary and mandibular second molars, as well as pathologic ally widened pericoronal spaces of the maxillary and mandibular third molars. The comparison of the sagittal third molar position in 52 impa cted teeth revealed a sagittal change in all third molars from post-tr eatment to follow-up: maxillary and mandibular third molars had rotate d to a more upright position and showed an increase in mesio- or disto angulation or a change of axial inclination. The lack of predicting fa ctors such as age, period of impaction, extent of space deficiency, de velopmental stage, level of eruption, and bone conditions leads the au thors to recommend that former orthodontic patients be recalled at reg ular intervals for assessment of changes in the condition and position of erupting or impacted third molars.