The Relationship Between Maxillary Third Molar Teeth and Maxillary Base Length

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the position of the third molars and their relationship with the maxillary base length on panoramic and cephalometric images. Material and Method: Cephalometric and panoramic radiographs were applied to Istanbul Aydin University Faculty of Dentistry Departments of Oral, Dental Maxillofacial Radiology and Orthodontics. In the retrospective study, the positions of maxillary third molars and their relationship with effective maxillary base length were examined in detail on cephalometric images. Results: The obtained data were evaluated using SPSS (22.0) package program. Regarding the data analysis, Mann-Whitney U Test Statistics was used for the analysis of two-variable data. The maxillary base relation of the maxillary third molars, which had been examined on cephalometric and panoramic images, were identified as 48.3% for skeletal class I, 41.1% for skeletal class II, 10.6% for skeletal class III, 70.2% for unilateral, and 29.8% for bilateral. The upper impacted wisdom tooth being unilateral or bilateral does not affect the length of the maxillary base (P = 0.735). The length of the maxillary base being unilateral or bilateral did not exhibit any statistical difference (Mann Whitney U Test). Conclusion: In the light of this study, the need for considering the treatment mechanics used in orthodontic treatments and the precautions to be taken prior to treatment planning in order to prevent any potential complications that may occur during surgical operations with regard to identifying the relationship between third molars and the anatomical formations on cephalometric and panoramic radiographs, as well as establishing whether this relation plays a role in the impaction of upper wisdom teeth.