Self-retaining retraction for third molar surgery using a Molt mouth prop, a Wieder retractor, and a towel clip

Abstract

The oral and maxillofacial surgeon is pitted against formidable anatomic impediments in his or her quest to perform surgery in the posterior part of the oral cavity in the sedated patient. These impediments may be static, as in the case of the alveolar processes of the maxilla and mandible, the adjacent teeth, and the hard palate. They may also be dynamic, in the form of the tongue, lips, and buccal mucosa. The 2 hands of the oral surgeon are reinforced by the 2 hands of the surgical assistant, but these 4 hands and the instruments they carry tend to overfill the mouths of most patients. The surgeon's dominant hand holds a rotary handpiece or another active instrument, and the opposite hand usually manages an appropriate retractor. The assistant is usually left to juggle a suction device, an irrigator, and a second retractor. The creative means by which these are managed speaks to the considerable dexterity required of oral surgery assistants. Somewhere within this circus, a throat pack or pharyngeal partition must also reside.