By : RN

Q1. CLINICAL IMPORTANCE OF 3RD MOLARS:

1. PEGGED 3RD MOLAR: third molars may have a conic form in which tooth
surfaces taper towards the occlusal surface.

2. CONGENITALLY MISSING: the 3rd molars may be congenitally missing.

3.IMPACTED: 3rd molars of both arches are often impacted and it is
usually advised to extract them.

4.SUPERNUMERAY TEETH: although rare,supernumerary teeth

are sometimes found just distal to 3rd molar area. ‘A’ shows an extra
tooth distal to 3rd molar.
5.MICRODONTIA: 3rd molars may be small in size due to agenesis.

6.BILATERAL MALFORMATION: there might be malformation on 2 sides

of a 3rd molar ; more common in maxillary 3rd molars.
Q2. QUADRANT SIDE OF 3RD MOLARS:
FOR MAXILLARY 3RD MOLARS: the distobuccal cusp is shorter than the
mesiobuccal cusp ; hence we can distinguish the right maxillary 3rd
molar from the left maxillary 3rd molar.
FOR MANDIBULAR 3RD MOLARS: from the mesial aspect, the crown of
mandibular 3rd molar tapers distally because it is wider bucco-lingually
on the mesial surface more than on the distal surface ; through this we
can distinguish between right and left mandibular 3rd molars.

Q3. TYPES OF MAXILLARY AND MANDIBULAR 3RD MOLARS

THAT COMMONLY EXIST:

MAXILLARY 3RD MOLARS:

1. Rhomboidal ( 4 CUSP TYPE): the 4 cusps are clearly visible and the
crown is rhomboidal in shape.
2.Heart-shaped molar (3 CUSP TYPE): it is the most common form. The
distolingual cusp is greatly diminished in size, or is absent, leaving only
3 functional cusps and in many cases no distolingual groove.

3.Continuous cusp type: as the name indicates, all the cusps are
continuous.

MANDIBULAR 3RD MOLARS:

1. Type-1 (4 cusp type) : these molars have 4 cusps with fused
roots.

2. Type-2 ( 5 cusp type): these molars have 5 cusps with 2 roots.