Quality of Life of Patients with Mandibular Third Molars and Mild Pericoronitis. A Comparison between Two Different Treatments: Extraction or Periodontal Approach

Abstract

Background: The extraction of the mandibular third molar is one of the most frequent intervention in oral surgery. A common indication for wisdom tooth extraction is represented by pericoronitis, which can determine discomfort and pain in patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of patients’ quality of life by comparing a surgical approach with a periodontal approach. Methods: We evaluated 82 patients diagnosed with pericoronitis that occurred at the third molar site. In total, 41 of them received a periodontal treatment and 41 were treated by extraction. The quality of life (QoL) of the patients was assessed by using the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) index. Results: A total of 82 patients were included in the study and were followed up for 6 months. Of the patients, 41 received a periodontal treatment and 41 underwent surgical extraction. At the baseline, the OHIP-14 scores of the surgical group were higher (19.71, SD 9.90) than the periodontal group (14.41, SD 8.71). At 1 week, there was a reduction in terms of OHIP-14 in both groups, but the periodontal group showed lower values (12.3, SD 8.11). Long-term follow-up showed a reduction of the OHIP-14 values, with a difference in favor of the surgical group (0.10, SD 0.45). However, there was a reduction in OHIP-14 scores in both groups. Conclusion: Although the periodontal treatment offered a rapid improvement in terms of quality of life during the first week after the treatment, after 1 month and 6 months, the extraction of the mandibular third molar extraction remained the best treatment, removing the occurrence of re-inflammation of the site.

Pre-Operative Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients Attending Surgical Removal of Mandibular Third Molar Teeth

“…Most published studies evaluated the OHIP-14 post-operatively following extraction [ 31 ]. However, in line with our findings of baseline global OHIP-14 scores of 22.5 ± 8.3, Passarelli et al reported that the mean baseline OHIP-14 scores of patients who underwent third molar surgery were 19.7 ± 9.9 [ 32 ]. In the present study, worse OHIP-14 scores were positively associated with worse health-related behaviors such as performing physical activity less than once a week, higher plaque scores, and specific characteristics of the third molar teeth, such as pericoronitis and radiolucency around third molars.…”

Six-Month Soft Tissues Healing after Lower Third Molar Extraction: Comparison of Two Different Access Flaps

“…A complete evaluation of post-operative conditions after third molar surgery is fundamental to detect eventual inflammatory complications, such as pain, swelling, trismus, infection, and alveolar osteitis, all implying a relevant negative impact on everyday quality of life of patients [25,26].…”

The Evaluation of Further Complications after the Extraction of the Third Molar Germ: A Pilot Study in Paediatric Dentistry

“…In addition, some authors have also proved a correlation between the inclusion and the number of roots of the third molar, the ramus and the alveolar bone height [2,9]. Indeed, there is greater probability of inclusion in cases where the tooth has more than two roots, the ramus has shown a lesser development or the alveolar nerve is higher [10]. On the whole, no differences between men and women regarding impaction are present, but it was demonstrated that facial characteristic and inclination of eruption can influence impaction [11,12].…”