Prevalence Of Impacted Teeth and Pattern of Third Molar Impaction Among Western Maharashtra Population: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background

Impaction is the commonest condition seen in the oral cavity , mostly third molar impaction is seen. In the rare conditions impacted canine are also seen. Impaction can be be fully impacted or partially impacted it can occur due to the crowding of teeth in oral cavity , any barrier that can be physical or developmental.

Other name for third molar is  “wisdom tooth”. Impaction of third molar is usually seen between the age group of 17 to 25 years. Impaction is classified as mesioangular, distoangular, vertical, horizontal, buccolingually placed. The most common type of impaction seen is mesioangular.

This study is aimed to evaluate the prevalence of impacted teeth specifically third molar impaction seen in the Western Maharashtra Population based on retrospective study.

Materials and methods

A case-control study was conducted to examine the types of impaction observed among patients who visited the Department of Oral Surgery between 29th August 2024 and 31st December 2024. The study included a total of 221 participants of both genders across all age groups, presenting either for third molar extraction or with pain in the third molar region. All participants underwent dental radiographic evaluation, including panoramic radiographs (OPGs), to assess for impacted teeth. The study aimed to compare the patterns of impaction across different age groups and genders. For analysis, participants were categorized into three age groups: less than 25 years, 25 to 50 years, and more than 50 years.

Results

The study was carried among 221 people in Maharashtra that shows 60% of population atleast  shows one impacted teeth in the oral cavity and 40% shows two impacted teeth in the oral cavity. In this 59.9% of population shows mesioangular impaction , 34.5% of the population shows horizontal impaction , 5% of population shows vertical impaction , 0.3% of population shows buccolingual impaction and 0.3% of population shows distoangular impaction. Mostly mesioangular impaction is found in Western Maharashtra population.

Conclusion:

In the studied Maharashtra population, 60% had at least one impacted tooth, while 40% had multiple. Mesioangular impaction was most common (59.9%), followed by horizontal (34.5%), vertical (5%), and distoangular/buccolingual (0.3% each). Impactions were most frequent in the 25–50 age group.