Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the reasons why erupted third molars are extracted

With the objective of describing the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the reasons that lead to the extraction of erupted third molars, a cross- sectional study was carried out with a sample of 611 individuals of both sexes, aged 18 years and over, who requested the said treatment. in the tooth extraction clinics of a Mexican university. The dependent variable was the reason for extraction of the third molar using the Kay and Blinkhorn classification. The independent variables were age, sex, arch type and tooth number, according to the International Dental Federation system. For statistical analysis, the Chi square test (X-2) was used. The results reported 813 extractions of third molars. The average age observed in the individuals was 40.29 +/- 13.59 years with ranges from 18 to 82 years. The main reason for third molar extractions was: dental caries and its consequences, with a frequency of 296 extractions (36.41%), followed by prosthetic reasons with 180 extractions (22.14%). A significant difference was observed between men and women (p < 0.05), between age groups (p < 0.05), by tooth number (classification according to the International Dental Federation) (p < 0.05), and by arch type (p < 0.05). The results allow us to conclude that the main reason why the extraction of erupted third molars is performed is dental caries and its consequences. Differences were observed through certain, in clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients.