In patients undergoing mandibular third molar disimpaction, verbally soothing anxious patients and giving anxiolytics when required, can assist in the prevention of surgical time prolongation by reducing the anxiety of patients.

A prospective study was carried out for exploring the impact of dental anxiety on the surgical time of mandibular third molar disimpactions. 

In this study, 116 participants (52 women, 64 men) were recruited. With the aid of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), the impact of dental anxiety on surgical time of mandibular third molar disimpactions was evaluated. Recording of patients' biodata, clinical and mandibular third molar radiologic data, and surgical duration were done. With the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows, an assessment of data was carried out.

Overall, 42 participants (36.2%) were mildly anxious, 67 (57.8%) were moderately anxious, and 7 (6.0%) were reported to be highly anxious. Compared to men, women were highly anxious and the overall surgical time of disimpaction was found to correlate with the anxiety levels of the subjects.

The overall surgical time was found to elevate by about 0.8 minutes with every unit rise in the anxiety score. Root curvature, mandibular third molar depth, and type of impaction were the other factors that impacted the overall surgical time in the study.

The patients' dental anxiety elevated the surgical time of mandibular third molar disimpactions. Among the factors that impact the surgical time, the anxiety of patients must be taken into consideration by the doctors and anxiolytics must be administered when necessary.