Adverse events during the removal of impacted maxillary third molars

The purpose of the present study was to estimate the frequency of the occurrence of intraoperative adverse events during the removal of impacted maxillary third molars and to correlate predictive variables. A prospective cohort study was carried out involving patients submitted to at least one surgical removal of an impacted maxillary third molar as part of a line of research on third molar surgery developed at the study university. Predictor variables indicative of the occurrence of adverse events during surgery were classified by their demographic, clinical, radiographic, and surgical features. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed. In total, 106 patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria, and 204 surgeries were performed. The mean patient age was 22.8 ± 2.2 years and the ratio of women to men was 3:1. Nine different adverse events occurring during surgery were recorded. These events occurred in approximately 6.9% of cases and were significantly associated with the second molar relationship (P = 0.008) and periodontal space (P = 0.05). The study revealed a low frequency of adverse events during the surgical removal of an impacted maxillary third molar. The results suggest that adverse events during surgery are associated with the second molar relationship and periodontal space.