second molar

A case of bilateral kissing molars

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An interesting article titled “Bilateral ‘kissing’ molars: A case report” appears in Clinical Case Reports written by Bilal Aslam- Pervez and Emma Carr (2022;10:e06407). The article discusses a case of a 20 year old man who had a very rare bilateral kissing molars impaction. Kissing molars occur the occlusal surfaces of impacted molars are united by the same follicular space and the roots point in the opposite direction. This typically occurs between wisdom teeth and second molars, but can also occur between wisdom teeth and the fourth molar. In the article discussion is made of the 20 year old man who went to a hospital in Scotland complaining of a dull ache for the last year. The patient was healthy but did smoke around 10 cigarettes a day for the last few years. Upon examination a total of 7 teeth … Read more

Wisdom teeth and periodontal damage of second molars

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An interesting article titled “Third molars and periodontal damage of second molars in the general population,” written by Kindler et al. appears in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, (vol. 45, pp. 1365-1374, 2018). The article explores the association between impacted or erupted wisdom teeth and periodontal pathology using probing depth and clinical attachment levels. Additional information on periodontal probing depth and a wisdom tooth’s effect on adjacent second molars can be found on the Risks of Keeping Wisdom Teeth page on this website. In previous works impacted wisdom teeth have been identified as a risk factor for developing tumors, dental cysts, and other pathology in adjacent second molars. Even without periodontal symptoms, periodontal damage on the distal aspect of second molars can be present. In the article the authors looked at data from a population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (specifically West Pomerania, … Read more

Do Mesial Angled Wisdom Teeth Cause Problems to Adjacent Second Molars

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An interesting article titled “Mesial Inclination of Impacted Third Molars and Its Propensity to Stimulate External Root Resorption in Second Molars—A Cone-Beam Computed Tomographic Evaluation” written by Anne Caroline Costa Oenning and et al. appears in the 2015 Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 73, pp. 379-386). The authors explore cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans to look at the teeth in the mouth. They look at the  presence of external root resorption (ERR) in second molars adjacent to horizontally and mesioangular impacted mandibular wisdom teeth. Unlike cavities, ERR is usually asymptomatic and aseptic, unless the pulp cavity has been involved or the lesion has been secondarily infected. Literature attributes the occurrence of this resorption to pressure from an adjacent impacted tooth. This pressure can activate clastic cells responsible for triggering resorption. Studies of periapical and panoramic radiographs have looked … Read more

Effect of Eruption Status of the Mandibular Wisdom Teeth on Distal Caries in the Adjacent Second Molar

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An article titled “Effect of Eruption Status of the Mandibular Third Molar on Distal Caries in the Adjacent Second Molar,” written by Feiwu Kang and et. al. appears in  the 2016 issue of J Oral Maxillofac Surg. The article explores the eruption of mandibular wisdom teeth and their effect on adjacent second molars. A total of 500 cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of mandibular third molar (MTMs) from 469 patients were evaluated. The authors assessed the presence of distal caries in mandibular second molars (MSMs), impaction depths and angulations of MTMs, cementoenamel junction (CEJ) distances between distal MSMs and mesial MTMs, presence of pericoronitis in MTMs, and patient characteristics (age and gender). The authors state that previous studies show the prevalence of distal caries in MSMs has ranged from 13.4 to 30.1%. The authors found that the overall prevalence of distal … Read more

Removing Wisdom Teeth May Improve The Periodontal Health of Remaining Teeth

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An interesting article titled “Removal of Symptomatic Third Molars May Improve Periodontal Status of Remaining Dentition,” by Carolyn Dicus-Brookes and et al. appears in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 71, pp. 1639-1646, 2013). The article seeks to explore the impact of removing wisdom teeth on the periodontal status of adjacent second molars and other teeth located in the mouth specifically for patients who have mild symptoms of pericoronitis. As discussed recently over at Upcoming Changes to JOMS and AAOMS in 2014, select articles in JOMS will have press releases written by AAOMS staff to accompany them. This is one of those articles so that feature appears to have already been rolled out. To get an idea of what the press release entails I will briefly describe it. It is very short (less than 10 sentences) and fits … Read more