Inferior alveolar nerve injury and surgical difficulty prediction in third molar surgery: the role of dental panoramic tomography.

Abstract

Surgical difficulty of impacted third molars may be assessed radiographically through seven factors, including spatial relationship, depth of impaction, ramus relationship/space available, type of impaction, number and shape of roots, shape of the tip of the root, and relation of the root to the inferior alveolar nerve. The application of logistic regression on the radiological findings showed that we could use them in predicting nerve paresthesia following third molar surgery. By developing a classification tree, it is easier to predict the possibility of temporary or permanent paresthesia. A full collaboration between clinicians and radiologists may help to uncover more parameters that can lead to a more accurate prediction of temporary and permanent paresthesia.