Does the Tooth Sectioning Method Impact Surgical Removal of the Distoangular Impacted Mandibular Third Molar?

Distoangular impacted teeth are considered challenging to remove due to their anatomic position. Proper tooth sectioning ensures the removal with minimal bone removal. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of 2 different tooth sectioning methods. Patients with distoangular-impacted mandibular third molar were included in this single-blinded randomized controlled trial. Patients with Class III–impacted, grossly decayed teeth and who were ASA III and above were excluded. The subjects were randomly allocated into Group-A conventional method, where tooth sectioning at the cementoenamel junction, and Group B, the modified method, where tooth sectioning removes only the distal portion of the crown. The primary predictor variable was the tooth sectioning method. The primary outcome variable was the operative time and the secondary outcomes included postoperative pain, trismus, and edema assessed on postoperative days 3 and 7. The effect of treatment on operative time was assessed using a t-test and Chi-squared test was used to compare the categorical data. Thirty eight patients were included in this study. With a 1:1 allocation ratio, 18 (50%) patients were included in each group. No statistically significant differences were observed in the 2 groups for gender allocation (P = .32), age (P = .34), tooth classification (P = .97), and side of extraction (P = .32). The mean operative time was 31.61 ± 14.13 minutes for group A and 22.72 ± 10.79 minutes for group B, at the 95% confidence interval had a P value of .04 (P