Evaluation the relationship between the position and impaction level of the impacted maxillary third molar teeth and marginal bone loss, caries and resorption findings of the second molar teeth with CBCT scans.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between the position and impaction level of the impacted maxillary third molar teeth and marginal bone loss, caries and resorption findings on the distal surface of the second molar teeth with cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT) scans. METHODS: All CBCT images of 189 impacted maxillary teeth belonging to 121 patients were examined by an observer. After determining the position and impaction level of the impacted maxillary third molar teeth, presence of caries, resorption and marginal bone loss in the distal of the second molar tooth were evaluated. IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 (IBM Corp. Released 2013. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) was used for statistical analyses and calculations. Data were analysed using the Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was found in terms of the impaction level of the impacted maxillary third molar tooth and the presence of caries in the distal surface of the second molar tooth, in terms of the impaction level of the impacted third molar tooth and the presence of marginal bone loss in the distal surface of the second molar tooth. A similar difference was found in terms of the impaction level of the impacted third molar tooth and the presence of root resorption in the distal surface of the second molar tooth. CONCLUSION: These data on the natural history of impacted maxillary third molars may contribute to both more accurate estimates of the risk of complications associated with these teeth and determination of the prophylactic approach to asymptomatic impacted third molars.