section name header

Evidence summaries

Removal of Asymptomatic Wisdom Teeth

Prophylactic removal of impacted lower wisdom teeth may not bring any benefit and may cause permanent numbness of the lower lip. Level of evidence: "C"

A topic in Clinical Evidence 1 summarizes the results of one RCT (n=164). Early third molar extraction did not have an effect on late crowding of the lower incisors. According to observational studies, removal of lower wisdom teeth causes permanent numbness of the lower lip and tongue in about 2% of people.

Comment: The quality of evidence was downgraded by limitations in study quality and by sparse data. The study had a high dropout rate (only 47% of participants were followed up for an average of 66 months).

    References

    • Esposito M. Should asymptomatic and disease-free impacted wisdom teeth be removed prophylactically? Impacted wisdom teeth. Clinical Evidence 2005;13:1723-1725.

Primary/Secondary Keywords