Evaluation and Management of Impacted Teeth in the Adolescent Patient

The most common oral and maxillofacial surgical procedure in adolescents is excision of impacted third molars. Adolescent patients should be evaluated for third molars starting around age 16 years unless symptomatic at an earlier age. The dental examination should include panorex imaging to assess development, pathologic condition, and possibility of eruption versus impaction. Various classification systems are available to identify the position and difficulty of the proposed surgical procedure. Retained impacted teeth increase the patient's risk of various morbidities including recurrent infection, damage to adjacent teeth, cysts and other lesions, and unexplained pain.