EVALUATION OF THE POSITIONS OF MAXILLARY THIRD MOLARS AND MANDIBULARS IN PANORAMIC RADIOGRAPHS – A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Abstract

This article sought to review scientific studies carried out on the prevalence of maxillary and mandibular third molar positions according to George Winter's classification (1926). Direct and indirect activities searches were carried out on the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and National Institutes of Health (Pubmed) platforms according to descriptors written in Health Sciences – DeCs: “impacted tooth” AND “third molar” AND “wisdom” AND “impacted” chosen in the English language, from 2014 to 2024. The results found by the authors, summarized in the research the greater prevalence of positioning of impacted maxillary and mandibular third molars, in the mesioangular, vertical and distoangular position with approximately 50% in almost all studies evaluated. Other positions, such as linguoversion, vestibuloversion and inverted, were considered rare due to their low prevalence in recent studies. Regarding gender, females had a higher prevalence of third molar impaction than males. The research analyzed presented in the sample results, the mesioangular, vertical, and distoangular angulation as most seen in the studies, and complementary exams are essential for surgical planning and defining the degree of difficulty in surgical removal.