REMAINING MANDIBULAR 3RD MOLARS IN AN ADULT-POPULATION

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.