Misleading information before lower third molar surgery - 40 years of failing our patients?

Lower third molar removal is a common surgical procedure that, like all surgery, carries with it inherent risks. One primary risk of significance is inferior dental nerve injury, which can have a significant impact on patients' lives. Conventional consenting usually involves the generic discussion of risks of inferior dental nerve injury but without any substantive personalised risk assessment. Following the Montgomery judgement, these warnings have to be considered both inadequate and potentially misleading, as they are based on population research that is inherently flawed; pre-surgical risk assessments should be focused on the individual. This paper will consider the inadequacy of current consenting protocols and will suggest how we might offer clearer guidance to our patients when seeking valid consent for third molar surgery.