title: Inability to work after surgical removal of mandibular third molars.
abstract: Inability to work after mandibular third-molar surgery was studied in 201 patients operated on in a specialist clinic. Mean indicated inability to work was 1.07 days; 95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.23 days; range, 0-6 days. Eighty-six (43%) patients did not indicate any reduction in working ability. Duration of operation more than 14 min, heavy smoking (> 19 cigarettes/day), and female sex were associated with prolonged inability to work. Self-administered analgesic consumption and pain scores over the first postoperative week showed positive correlations with inability to work: r = 0.44 and 0.41, respectively. Other indicators of the normal postoperative reaction were to a lesser extent associated with reduced ability to work. Total sick-leave cost in Norway associated with surgical third-molar removals, adjusted for age-related income, employment rate, treatment rate, and provider of treatment, was 46.4 million NOK per year.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, University of Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: T I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Berge
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible; D008875:Middle Aged; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control; D012646:Self Administration; D012737:Sex Factors; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000191:economics; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D013997:Time Factors; D014081:Tooth Extraction; D014937:Work
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics