Practical Advantages of CBCT in the Surgical Treatment of Impacted Lower Third Molar

Introduction: The imaging method of cone beam is an improved, extremely accurate computed tomography applicable in the whole field of dentistry. Due to its ability to locate the exact position of the impacted teeth, CBCT software has an important role in the management of difficult cases of impacted third molar. In some situations, the lower third molar is quite near to the inferior alveolar nerve that the surgical extraction can present a high risk of post-operative sensitive impairs of the skin and mucosa of the lower lip and chin on the same side.
Presentation of case series: Our study tried to assess the contribution of CBCT in the pre-operative evaluation and further treatment of patients with impacted third molars in mandibular bone with high risk of inferior alveolar nerve injury. The paper presents three clinical cases showing positive signs on standard OPG, which exhibit indicators of a potential contact between the inferior alveolar nerve and the impacted lower third molars. For an improved exploration Dental CT Scan, DICOM image acquisition program, and 3D reconstruction with a special software were used. Conclusions: The study showed that compared with panoramic radiography, CBCT improve the evaluation of the surgical risk and allow a more accurate planning of surgery.