The buccal lid approach: the path to the impacted tooth

Surgical procedures form an integral part of dentistry. It is not very uncommon to diagnose impacted mandibular third molars. The conventional approach requires massive bone removal for better access, therefore sagittal split osteotomy (SSO) and extra-oral approaches have been proposed as alternative approaches. Excellent access to the impacted tooth, the great proximity of the crown/root to the inferior alveolar canal and the separation and protection of the nerve under direct visualization shows the superiority of the buccal lid approach technique over other techniques.