Introduction:

Lower anterior dental crowding is a common malocclusion in humans. Among its causes, the lower third molar is cited; however there are not enough studies to support a statistical dependence between crowding and the third molar.

Objective:

To determine the association between lower anterior crowding and the lower third molar.

Methods:

A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out, in which 68 20-year-old students from the Dentistry Faculty of Camagüey province participated, during the period from November 2019 to February 2020. The presence of the third molar and crowding was determined; as well as, position of the third molar and space for its location in the arch.

Results:

There was supremacy in the presence of the lower third molar in the patients studied where there was mostly the presence of lower anterior crowding. The inadequate position prevailed in both lower molars, which coincides with a higher prevalence of crowding. The space for molar 48 was generally sufficient, while for tooth 38 it was non-existent; crowding was present where there was sufficient space as well as where space was doubtful or non-existent. There was a statistical association between lower anterior crowding and the lower third molar with improper position.

Conclusions:

It was found that the lower third molars were present in most of the patients studied, coinciding with the majority of patients with lower anterior crowding.

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