Abstract
OBJECTIVE: There is a lack of data pertaining to the examination of dental follicles (DFs) in asymptomatic impacted lower third molars (ILTMs) using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and histopathological analysis in the Yemeni population. The objective of this study was to explore the DFs of asymptomatic ILTMs through radiological (CBCT) and histological analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study comprised 60 patients aged 18-50 years with ILTMs. The ILTMs in these patients exhibited a DF with measurements ranging between 3 and 5 mm. CBCT was employed to evaluate the maximum width of the DF surrounding the crown of ILTMs in horizontal, sagittal, and coronal sections. After the extraction, the DFs were examined for any pathological changes and categorized as normal, inflammatory, cystic, or neoplastic. The data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21 (Released 2012; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States), and the statistical significance was determined by employing chi-square tests with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: In the study, a total of 60 patients were included, with 17 (28.3%) being male and 43 (71.7%) being female. The majority of the patients 26 (43.3%) fell within the age range of 26-35 years. Regarding the angulation of the ILTMs, most of them were mesioangular 45 (75%), followed by vertical 7 (11.7%), horizontal 4 (6.6%), buccoangular 3 (5%), and distoangular 1 (1.6%). Histopathological changes were observed in 44 of the samples (73.3%). The majority of histopathological changes identified in the DFs were dentigerous cysts 26 (59%) followed by odontogenic keratocysts 11 (25%). Thirty-six (81.8%) of histopathological changes were found in females, whereas in only eight samples (18.1%), histological changes were observed in males. This difference was statistically significant (p=0.004). However, there were no statistically significant differences observed in the occurrence of histopathological changes based on age, angulation, and follicle size (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Follicles in ILTMs varied significantly based on gender, with a higher occurrence in females, and tooth impaction angle, mainly in the mesioangular position. Furthermore, a follicular size of 3-5 mm was associated with a higher incidence of pathological changes. Hence, histopathologic examination is recommended for surgically removed ILTMs irrespective of the follicle size observed in radiographic images.