Remaining mandibular third molars in an adult population.

Although tooth loss with age has been extensively investigated, there appears to be no literature on the relationship of age to remaining mandibular third molars. The study showed that as age increases so does the frequency of absent vertically erupted mandibular third molars. However, no correlation was found between age and loss of mandibular impacted third molars in men of 71 years of age or older. The evidence presented here suggests that impacted mandibular third molars, which have not been infected, may be more likely to remain compared with other teeth at potential risk.