DAY-CASE ORAL-SURGERY - A REVIEW OF 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE AT THE DUBLIN-DENTAL-HOSPITAL

A retrospective analysis of the changing work-load at the Dublin Denta l Hospital oral surgery day case unit was undertaken. This involved 26 697 operations performed during the 25-year period 1968-1992. The res ults show how the practice of oral surgery has changed over this time. Annual totals ranged from 766 to 1549 operations. While most categori es of operations remained largely unchanged, the removal of impacted t hird molars increased from 10.5% of the annual total to 57.0%. Routine extractions of permanent teeth decreased from 53.9% of the annual tot al to 18.0%.