Age of patients and morbidity associated with mandibular third molar surgery.

The purpose of this study was to define the incidence of operative and postoperative morbidity associated with the removal of impacted mandibular third molars in patients of various ages. Results of this investigation show that there is a significant increase in surgical morbidity as patients become older. When it has been determined that the mandibular third molars must be removed, the operation should be performed on the young adult.