title: Spontaneous eruption of impacted second molars.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To propose a treatment protocol for the management of impacted second molars.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were randomly divided into two equal groups (20 patients in each). The patients in the first group underwent a surgical removal of the mucosa covering retained teeth; the second group was the control group and patients were not treated but only observed. The total number of retained teeth considered were 66 (34 in the first group and 32 in the control group). A Chi squared test has been performed to compare the prevalence of eruption in the two groups. We compared the frequency of eruption for the treatment compared to the control group by calculating the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eruption occurred in 32 teeth after surgical removal of the mucosa while in the control group only 3 teeth erupted in the considered period. The difference between the two groups showed statistically significant. Among the non erupted teeth, 20 were positioned with a mesial inclination and 12 were positioned vertically.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results show that the removal of the mucosa covering teeth allows in several cases second molars to erupt. It's a conservative method which doesn't exclude the possibility of a successive different therapy. Therefore it must be considered among the treatment options during treatment planning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy. giampietro.farronato@unimi.it
authors.forename: Giampietro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Farronato
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giannini
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galbiati
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Consonni
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maspero
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008963:Molar / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000601:surgery; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D014078:Tooth Eruption; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D057832:Watchful Waiting; D055815:Young Adult