Objective To compare and analyze the efficacy of functional extraction and minimally invasive extraction in the removal of impacted mandibular third molars (IMTM) .
Methods A total of 94 patients who underwent the removal of impacted IMTM in our hospital from July 2024 to June 2025 were prospectively selected and randomly divided into a control group (minimally invasive tooth extraction) and a study group (functional tooth extraction) using a random number table, with 47 cases in each group. Follow-up was conducted at 1 day, 7 days, and 3 months after the operation. The surgical conditions (operation time, operation success rate, bleeding, difficulty of operation, integrity of the extraction socket, root fracture rate, and damage to adjacent teeth), symptoms at 1 day after the operation [bleeding, swelling, pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score, numbness of the lower lip, and mouth opening], symptoms at 7 days after the operation (pain, mouth opening, swelling, numbness of the lower lip, and dry socket), and effects at 3 months after the operation (alveolar bone width and height, numbness of the lower lip, and temporomandibular joint symptoms) were compared between the two groups.
Results The integrity score of the extraction socket in the study group was (3.64 ± 0.28), which was significantly higher than that in the control group (2.47 ± 0.14), with a statistically significant difference (t = 25.623, P<0.001). At 1 day and 7 days postoperatively, the VAS scores in the study group were (0.83 ± 0.21) and (0.463 ± 0.010), respectively, which were lower than those in the control group (1.56 ± 0.24) and (0.527 ± 0.020), with statistically significant differences (t1 d = 15.693, t7 d = 19.622, P<0.001). At 3 months postoperatively, the alveolar bone height in the study group was (14.1 ± 2.3) mm, which was higher than that in the control group (12.8 ± 2.6) mm, with a statistically significant difference (t = 2.449, P = 0.016). The alveolar bone width in the study group was (6.2 ± 1.7) mm, compared with (5.6 ± 1.1) mm in the control group, and the difference was also statistically significant (t = 2.310, P = 0.023) .
Conclusions When removing IMTM, functional extraction leads to higher integrity of the extraction socket compared with minimally invasive extraction. It can effectively alleviate short-term postoperative pain and discomfort, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions such as postoperative bleeding and swelling, and achieve better preservation of alveolar bone width and height three months after surgery, but it takes longer and involves more bleeding during the operation, and is more difficult to perform. Therefore, although functional tooth extraction has a long operation time and high difficulty, it offers good postoperative recovery outcomes and has certain clinical feasibility.