Assessment of difficulty in third impacted mandibular molar surgery: the Conti Scale.
OBJECTIVE
We suggest a numerical method for the preoperative assessment of difficulty in mandibular third molar surgeries.


METHODS
This study enrolled 1000 subjects ranging in, age from 17 to 91 years, who presented to the Clinic of Maxillary Facial Surgery at the, University of Florence in Italy, for impacted mandibular third molars removal in 2013. The difficulty of extraction was analyzed for each patient.


RESULTS
Comparison of preoperative difficulty assessment scores with the actual difficulty encountered by an operator, confirming the reliability of our protocol.


CONCLUSIONS
Careful preoperative analysis of the extraction difficulties and correct surgical planning can reduce intra and postoperative complications, in the third impacted mandibular molar surgeries. The use of an easy and rapid method for the assessment of difficulty in third molar surgeries, is an efficient clinical methodology for preoperative analysis.
Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, Unit of Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Florence, School of Health Human Sciences, Florence, Italy - bertolai@unifi.it.
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Bertolai
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery*; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014081:Tooth Extraction; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000601:surgery*; D061221:Trigeminal Nerve Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult