How will mandibular third molar surgery affect mandibular second molar periodontal parameters?

BACKGROUND: Several conflicting findings have been published in the previous literature regarding the effects of impacted third molar surgery on the periodontal parameters of the adjacent second molar; some authors have shown improvement of periodontal health distal to the adjacent second molar, whilst others have demonstrated loss of attachment level (AL) and reduction of alveolar bone height. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in periodontal health parameters distal to the adjacent second molar following extraction of an impacted third molar. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Out of 50 patients participated in the study, 42 patients completed the study. The mean age of the sample was 20.9 (range, 18-25) years. All teeth were mesioangular impacted mandibular third molars categorized at C1 class based on the Pell and Gregory classification. All surgeries were performed by one surgeon and the same surgeon recorded the pre-operative and post-operative measurements of probing depth (PD) and AL on the distobuccal aspect of the second molars. Data analysis were carried out with the SPSS software (version 19), using the paired-samples t-test and one sample t-test. RESULTS: Surgical extraction of impacted mandibular third molar resulted in a significant increase of PD on the distobuccal aspect of the second molars, whereas AL was decreased significantly after surgery (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Unlike plenty of researches that have shown improvement of periodontal parameters of the second molar after extraction of impacted third molar, our study showed a significant increase in PD at the distal aspect of the second molar. Further follow-up on clinical and radiological parameters are required for more profound understanding of the long-term effects of third molar extraction on the periodontal parameters of the adjacent second molar.