4.

Estimated Annual Incidence of Paresthesia of the Mandibular Nerve Following Third-Molar Extractions by Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: United States

Persons with Paresthesia	Minimum No	Maximum No.
Extraction of 3.5 million lower third molars
Temporary	45 500	154 000
Permanent	11 550	35 000
Extraction of the 33% of third molars with symptoms or pathology
Temporary	15 015	50 820
Permanent	3 811	11 550
Incidence of iatrogenic paresthesia if 67% of the extractions are unnecessary
Temporary	30 485	103 180
Permanent	7 739	23 450
Incidence of iatrogenic paresthesia if 50% of the extractions are unnecessary
Temporary	22 750	77 000
Permanent	5 775	17 500

Note. Paresthesia is numbness of the lips, tongue, and cheek.The estimated minimum percentage of temporary cases of paresthesia is 1.3% and of permanent cases is 0.33%—the maximum is 4.4% temporary and 1% permanent.