Although tooth loss with age has been extensively investigated, there
appears to be no literature on the relationship of age to remaining ma
ndibular third molars. The study showed that as age increases so does
the frequency of absent vertically erupted mandibular third molars. Ho
wever, no correlation was found between age and loss of mandibular imp
acted third molars in men of 71 years of age or older. The evidence pr
esented here suggests that impacted mandibular third molars, which hav
e not been infected, may be more likely to remain compared with other
teeth at potential risk.