Inability to work after surgical removal of mandibular third molars

Inability to work after mandibular third-molar surgery was studied in 201 patients operated on in a specialist clinic. Mean indicated inability to work was 1.07 days; 95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.23 days; range, 0-6 days. Eighty-six (43%) patients did not indicate any reduction in working ability. Duration of operation more than 14 min, heavy smoking (> 19 cigarettes/day), and female sex were associated with prolonged inability to work. Self-administered analgesic consumption and pain scores over the first postoperative week showed positive correlations with inability to work: r = 0.44 and 0.41, respectively. Other indicators of the normal postoperative reaction were to a lesser extent associated with reduced ability to work. Total sick-leave cost in Norway associated with surgical third-molar removals, adjusted for age-related income, employment rate, treatment rate, and provider of treatment, was 46.4 million NOK per year.