Hepatic sEH drives stress-induced neuroinflammation via IL-6 and liver-brain axis.

Impacted teeth represent a common dental condition characterized by teeth remaining trapped within the jawbone, failing to erupt during the physiological eruption period. This condition can result in incomplete dentition and malocclusion, compromising facial aesthetics and, consequently, patient mental health and quality of life (). Because dental treatment is specialized, time-sensitive, and longitudinal, it imposes some financial burden on patients (). Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) function as a payment system that categorizes short-stay inpatients based on diagnoses, surgical procedures, and complications or comorbidities. As a tool for refining the management of healthcare services, the DRG system reflects disease severity, resource utilization, and prognosis (). While it facilitates cost control and resource allocation in public hospitals, a singular focus on cost containment may jeopardize clinical quality (). Conversely, clinical pathway management aims to enhance clinical quality and efficiency while reducing expenditures (). Theoretically, the combined implementation of these two policies may balance between cost control and efficiency improvement; however, empirical evidence regarding their combined effects in oral surgery single-disease populations remains scarce. While existing literature extensively examines the overall costs of oral diseases (), the economic burden of hospital-acquired infections (), and inpatient costs for oral tumors (, ), there remains a notable lack of research evaluating the policy effectiveness concerning impacted teeth. Therefore, this study utilizes data from patients with a primary diagnosis of impacted teeth at a Grade A tertiary public hospital in City L as a case study. By identifying the implementation of DRG payment reform and clinical pathway management as intervention points, we systematically evaluate dynamic changes in total inpatient costs. Our objective is to provide a scientific basis for the refined management of specific dental conditions and the mitigation of patient financial burdens. Data for this study were retrieved from medical record front sheets and medical insurance settlement lists at a tertiary general hospital in City L, covering the period from September 1, 2021, to December 31, 2024. We matched these records to identify patients with a primary diagnosis of impacted tooth (ICD-10: K01.000) and a primary procedure of “extraction of impacted tooth with flap reflection” (ICD-9-CM-3: 23.1900 × 006). After excluding patients who withdrew from the clinical pathway and cases with incomplete or missing data, 1,206 patients were included in the final analysis.