Effect of the Surgeon's Dominant Hand on Postoperative Periodontal Status of Adjacent Molars After Removal of Lower Third Molars

Abstract

The purpose was to investigate the effect of the surgeon's dominant hand and the side (right orleft) of surgical removal of third molars in the mandible on the probing pocket depth and probing attachment level on the adjacent secondmolars. This study included 73 patients (46 female and 27 male patients; average age, 15.9±1.9years) with 146 asymptomatically submucosal (fully covered by oral mucosa) or impacted (completely enclosed by bone) lower third molars surgically removed by a right-handed surgeon. The probing pocket depth and probing attachment level (outcome variables), as well as the gingiva and plaque indexes (other variables), were documented preoperatively and 6months after surgical removal. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed, and the P value was set at .05. The mean probing pocket depth decreased by 0.69mm on the lower left second molar and by 0.64mm on the lower right second molar over the follow-up of 6months.The mean attachment gain was 0.45mm for the lower left second molar and 0.40mm for the lower right second molar. The side differences between these changes in probing pocket depth (P=.620) and probing attachment level (P=.545) were not significant. The gingival index (P=.029) and plaque index (P=.007) deteriorated significantly for the lower right compared with the lower left second molar. For a right-handed surgeon, the operated side had no influence on the changes in probing depth and attachment level on the adjacent secondmolars.