ORIGINAL RESEARCH Journal of Dentomaxillofacial Science (J Dentomaxillofac Sci ) December 2017, Volume 2, Number 3: 172-175 P-ISSN.2503-0817, E-ISSN.2503-0825 172 © 2017 JDMFS. Published by Faculty of Dentistry, Hasanuddin University. All rights reserved. http://jdmfs.org CrossMark Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of complications between surgical removal of third molar and germectomy, objectively and subjectively. Material and Methods: A prospective nonrandomized study for all patients who were undergoing minor oral surgery of mandibular third molar was carried out in the Oral & Maxillofacial Department (OMF) of Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital, Malaysia (HSAH). The indication for surgery was for orthodontic reasons. The patients were divided into three groups according to their radiographic root morphology, namely Group I (root not formed), Group II (root partially formed), and Group III (roots fully formed) Results: A total of 44 patients were enrolled into this study; 2 teeth from each patient, henceforth involving 88 teeth. There was a statistically significant difference in the age between the three groups (p < 0.05). Germectomy was the shortest procedure. In the objective evaluation conducted 1 week post-surgery, no sign of trismus and facial swelling was observed in these three groups. In the subjective evaluation, we found there were significant differences in patients’ ability to tolerate orally (p < 0.05) and ability to perform daily activities (p < 0.05) among the three groups. Conclusion: This study shows low incidence of complications in all the three groups. Germectomy is a simple and safe procedure; thus, this prompted the author advocate the early removal of mandibular third molar. Keywords: Germectomy, Mandibular Third Molar, Surgical Removal Cite this Article: Ling XF, Heng TL, Mohamad AFB. 2017. Early removal of asymptomatic mandibular third molar-is it safe? Journal of Dentomaxillofacial Science 2(3): 172-175. DOI: 10.15562/jdmfs.v2i3.611 Early removal of asymptomatic mandibular third molar-is it safe? Xiao F. Ling * , Tee L. Heng, Ahmad F. Bin Mohamad Introduction Te mandibular third molar, which is the lower wisdom tooth, has the highest rate of impaction as compared to all the teeth, primarily due to the lack of alveolar arch space between the ante- rior border of ramus and the distal surface of the second molar. 1,2 Surgical removal of mandibular third molar, including germectomy for orthodontic purposes, is one of the most common procedures in our facility. Germectomy is a procedure of removing a tooth that has formed one-third or less of its root and has a radiographically discernible periodontal ligament. 3 Early removal of these teeth is widely acknowledged, as allegedly many studies have demonstrated a direct correlation between age and the incidence of complications. 4 However, there is still lack of clinical evidence in texts, whereby the duration of the procedure and postoperative sequelae between germectomy and surgical removal of third molar were compared for further analysis. Te purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of complications in relation to germectomy, early removal of third molar and surgical removal of third molar, objectively as well as subjectively. Material and methods For the purpose this study, a prospective non-randomized study for all patients undergoing minor oral surgery of mandibular third molar was carried out in Oral and Maxillofacial Department (OMF), Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital(HSAH), from April to September 2014. Te patients were divided into three groups according to their radiographic root morphology: Group I (roots not formed), Group II (roots partially formed) and Group III (roots fully formed) figures 1-3. Te study had followed the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration on medical protocol and ethics for research involving human subjects and informed consent was obtained from all participants and approved by the National Ethical Committee (Medical Research and Ethics Committee). Tis research did not receive any specifc grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for- proft sectors. To be included in the study sample, all patients aged between 14 and 23 years must have bilateral mandibular third molar. Te patients are excluded from the study if they have a history of acute peri-coronitis; pregnancy; underlying medical illnesses such as metabolic disorder, cardiac problems Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital, Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia * Corresponding to: Xiao F. Ling, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital, Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia drxfling@hotmail.com Received: 15 September 2017 Revised: 21 September 2017 Accepted: 30 October 2017 Available online: 1 December 2017