Bone removal is necessary for extracting the third molars that are erupted, partially erupted, and/or impacted in bone. Hence, it is necessary to choose a surgical method or instruments that conform to anatomic landmarks and are based on physiological principles. Many authors have reported injuries to the adjacent tooth, especially the distal part of periodontium after removal of second molar. Hence, the present study was undertaken to assess and compare the surgical and postsurgical outcomes of third molar removal using piezoelectric surgery and rotary bur.

A total of 30 healthy adult individuals who were in need of prophylactic removal of impacted mandibular third molar tooth with ideal condition were included for the study. Individuals were divided randomly into study groups of 15 each, so that the difficulty of surgery will be the same in both the groups. Group I – piezoelectric osteotomy technique and group II – rotary osteotomy technique. The rotary device consists of a hand piece and a rotary speed ranging around 35,000 rpm was used. The piezoelectric device consists of a hand piece, and a frequency of 25 to 29 kHz with a microvibration of 60 to 200 mm/sec was used with a boosted working mode. Data were analyzed using unpaired t-test and qualitative data were analyzed using Fischer's exact test.

The average age of the study subjects in the piezosurgery group and rotary group was 28.40 ± 2.69 and 30.06 ± 3.15 years respectively. The time taken for removal of impacted tooth by rotary bur was less than that by piezoelectric device, which was significant statistically (p < 0.05). Until the 4th postoperative day, severity of pain experienced was more in the rotary group, which was statistically significant (p < 0.005). Mouth opening was significantly better in the piezoelectric group as compared with rotary bur until the 7th postoperative day.

The piezosurgery method reduces postoperative pain, trismus, and swelling. Also, it may play an important role in increasing bone density within the extraction socket and decreasing the amount of bone loss of adjacent tooth in the distal aspect.

In clinical practice, piezosurgery plays an important role because piezosurgery reduces postoperative pain, trismus, and also swelling.

Basheer SA, Govind RJ, Daniel A, Sam G, Adarsh VJ, Rao A. Comparative Study of Piezoelectric and Rotary Osteotomy Technique for Third Molar Impaction. J Contemp Dent Pract 2017;18(1):60-64.