Ahmed Shaher Alqahtani, Mohammed Najmuddin, Safeena Abdul Khader Saheb, Mohammed Aljabri, Bashaer Mohammed Abuhadi, Amani Abdu M. Basheri, Sarah Ismail Salhabi, Ahlam Atiah Ali Domari
European Journal of General Dentistry - 2026;15(1):68-73
Third molars that emerge in nonfunctional or partially functional jaw positions are referred to as impacted third molars. Third molar impaction is associated with several characteristics, and it is due to local and systemic causes. The severe position of the impacted tooth may be connected to increased delays in treatment, female gender, microdontia of the lateral incisors, and over-retained deciduous canine. Impaction of the third molar can cause pathological changes such as dental caries and root resorption in the adjoining second molar. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the frequency of distal pathologies of the mandibular second molar and the risk factors associated with the presence and absence of the third molar. Materials and Methods A total of 699 panoramic radiographs of good image quality were assessed for the topographic anatomy of the right and left mandibular third molars, and the presence of pathology in relation to the second molar of the same quadrant was evaluated. The pathological status of the second molar, including the presence of dental caries and bone loss distal to the second molar, was recorded. The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS version 20.0 (IBM, Chicago, United States) at the significance level of p-value <0.05. Results A total of 38.6% cases revealed no impaction of the third molar; maximum 34.3% cases had vertical impaction, with dental caries being the most common dental caries of all the observed pathologies in relation to second molar. Conclusion The results of this study demonstrated that the dental caries over the distal aspect of second molar was mostly associated with mesioangular impaction followed by horizontal impaction of third molar. Maximum cases of root resorption and alveolar bone loss were seen in horizontal impaction followed by mesioangular impaction. Due to the high prevalence of these pathologies, a prophylactic removal of lower third molars with mesioangular and horizontal impaction is advisable.
