Ahmet Ercan Sekerci
The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of MPRs, describe the variations in radiographic appearance on CBCT images, and discuss the radiographic findings related to these third molar radiolucencies. Panoramic radiographs and CBCT images of the lower third molar regions from 216 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were retrospectively investigated for the prevalence and radiographic features of MPRs. Age and gender were recorded for all patients and, for the cases of MPR, laterality and types were also recorded. The chi-squared test was used for statistical analyses. Of the 216 patients, 21 patients with 23 MPRs were identified on panoramic radiographs; a frequency of 9.7%. Of the 21 patients, 12 were female (57.1%) and 9 were male (42.9%), giving a female to male ratio of 1.3:1. The age range of the patients with MPR was 19-74 years (mean 37.2�?±12.3). Of the 21 patients, 19 (90.4%) had unilateral and 2 (9.6%) had bilateral MPR. The most common location was the distal surface of the mandibular third molar. Most (58.6%) were round in shape. These radiographic findings concluded that an MPR can be explained by the presence of one or a combination of decreased density in trabecular bone, thinning of the inner surface of the buccal cortex, thinned inner surface of the lingual cortex or a depression in the external surface of the lingual cortex. Based on this retrospective study MPRs does not appear to require treatment
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