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Abstract

Wisdom teeth (or the impacted mandibular third molars) are the most common reason for which an Oral Surgeon consultation is sought by a general dentist. However, the young budding Oral & Maxillofacial surgeon is fascinated by the Plastic surgery, Orthognathic Surgery and Oncosurgery procedures that are routinely carried out in the Maxillofacial & Craniofacial centers that train them during the post graduate tenure. The basic operative procedure in which they are assessed during their final MDS examination i.e., surgical removal of an impacted wisdom tooth – takes a back seat. It is repeatedly reiterated that day in and day out – they may not be engaging in Oncosurgery and plastic surgery procedures, but they may be called in by the fellow dentists for a wisdom tooth removal. This presentation revisits the basics of examining a patient of impacted third molar, diagnosing according to the Rood’s criteria, categorizing third molars as per the Pederson’s difficulty Index, and the indications for a 3D-CT in a patient of impacted wisdom tooth. The common complications encountered such as lingual nerve injury & dry socket are also touched upon.

Biography

Rajinikanth K is a Senior Professor, Fellowship supervisor & Post graduate teacher in Oral & Maxillofacial surgery in Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Deemed-to-be University, Nagpur, India. He has a teaching experience of 14 years with 5 years as the Chief of the Unit. His area of expertise is Maxillofacial trauma, Cleft surgery, Distraction Osteogenesis, LASERs and Dental Implants. He has 15 publications to his name of which, 8 are international. He attended more than 35 conferences and delivered 16 scientific presentations. He is also actively involved in organization of 13 regional & 3 national conferences.

E-mail: rajanikanthmalaviya@gmail.com