Abstract: PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of geostatics on inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) function after extraction of high-risk mandibular third molars (M3Ms), and to provide a clinical reference for reducing IAN injury risk. METHODS: A prospective single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted, including 270 high-risk M3Ms from 263 patients. The M3Ms were randomly divided into two groups (135 M3Ms each): the experimental group (extracted via geostatics) and the control group (extracted via traditional mechanical methods). One week after operation, the stitches were removed during the follow-up visit. The occurrence of IAN injury in both groups was recorded, and the differences between the groups and between genders were analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, gender, Pell-Gregory classification and Winter classification of M3Ms between the two groups (P>0.05). The incidence of IAN injury was 11.1% (15/135) in the control group and 3.0% (4/135) in the experimental group, with significant difference (P=0.009). Stratified analysis by gender showed that the incidence of IAN injury was 1.7% (2/121) in males and 11.4% (17/149) in females, with significant difference (P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Geostatics can effectively reduce the incidence of IAN injury after high-risk M3M extraction, providing a new technical approach for clinical IAN protection. More attention should be paid to IAN protection in female patients during high-risk M3M extraction.

Key words: Geostatics, Mandibular third molar, Inferior alveolar nerve, Nerve injury, Postoperative complications