Abstract

 Third molar surgery (TMS) is not free from complications. However, there is no hierarchy, definition or critical appraisal of all clinical manifestations related to these complications. The purpose of this article was to describe and analyze the signs and symptoms (SS) related to third molar surgery (TMS) postoperative complications used in the literature. A literature searchs were made on Medline, Trip-Database and Web of Science databases from year 2001 to 2010. SS of postoperative complications in TMS were assessed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. 166 full-length articles were recovered. 56 SS were found. The most frequent were: pain (66.3%), swelling (27.1%), trismus (20.5%) and infection (12.7%). A qualitative appraisal showed a wide variety of SS exist. However, different denominations are used to describe the same concepts and measurements are performed using instruments with no clear description of their reliability and validity. Finally, the SS for TMS are defined with varying nomenclatures, demonstrated a clear lack of consensus in their definition and the validation of the measurements instruments in this area of maxillofacial surgery.

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