This Cochrane review upate compares the relative benefits and risks of different techniques for surgical removal of mandibular wisdom teeth. While the review includes 25 new trials the quality of the studies was variable with many having biases that could have influenced the findings so no meaningful conclusions could be drawn.
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This Cochrane review of the effects of removal compared with retention (conservative management) of asymptomatic disease-free impacted wisdom teeth updates the 2016 version. No new studies were identified so the conclusions are unchanged.
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This review comparing the effects of envelope and triangular flaps for mandibular third molar surgery included 20 RCTs involving 770 patients. A majority of the studies were of cross-over design with the findings suggesting no differences in teh outcomes between the two flap designs.
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This review of variables associated with surgical difficulty in the extraction of third molars included 16 prospective cohort studies suggesting a number of variable that may be associated with surgical difficulty.
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This review to assess the influence of two suture methods on the postoperative complications of lower third molar extraction included 5 RCTs . Findings suggest the use of secondary closure has a favourable effect on pain, facial swelling, and trismus but the quality of the evidence is limited.
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This review of the effectiveness of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in reducing postoperative complications of third molar surgery included 10 small RCTs suggesting that PRF may reduce but not prevent some complications.
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This review comparing the efficacy of Cox-2 inhibitors with ibuprofen after third molar removal included 12 RCTs suggesting that COX-2 inhibotors and Ibuprofen provide similar pain relief at 6, 8, and 12 h after third molar removal.
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This review of the prevalence of distal surface caries in second permanent molars associated with retained third molars included 11 mainly retrospective observational studies findins a pooled prevalence of 23% (95% CI; 2% to 44%).
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This review of coronectomy reoperation rates. included 15 studies with 14 being at high or medium risk of bias. The finding suggest a reoperation rate of 5.1%.
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This blog on a review of the efficacy of platelet rich fibrin (PRF) in oral surgery procedures was prepared by MSc Students from @UClanDentistry during a workshop with the @TheDentalElf. The review includes 30 small studies of limited quality more high quality studies are needed to assess effectiveness.
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