Surgical extraction of retained lower third molars is associated with the development of postoperative complications, including inflammation, trismus and postoperative pain, that lead to a decrease in patients' quality of life. Therefore, the use of drugs is essential to reduce the morbidity associated with surgery, with NSAIDs and corticosteroids being the most commonly used drugs.
Surgical extraction of retained lower third molars is associated with the development of postoperative complications, including inflammation, trismus and postoperative pain. Traditionally, NSAIDs have been used for the treatment of postoperative pain and inflammation, although corticosteroids are increasingly used in oral surgery, as they have proven to be clinically effective in reducing postoperative complications without causing serious adverse effects. Although numerous studies have been carried out comparing different corticosteroids in order to determine which of them is the most effective, there is still no clinical protocol regulating the use of these drugs in oral surgery. Therefore, this clinical trial is based on comparing two of the most studied corticosteroids used in oral surgery to date: dexamethasone and methylprednisolone. This study is based on the preoperative administration of 8mg of dexamethasone or 40mg of methylprednisolone via submucosa, randomly, in patients undergoing surgical extraction of a retained lower third molar, to determine which of these two drugs is more effective in the prevention of inflammation, trismus and postoperative pain.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
84
Preoperative submucosal administration of 8mg of dexamethasone or 40mg of methylprednisolone.
Preoperative submucosal administration of 8mg of dexamethasone or 40mg of methylprednisolone.
Unai Fernández Martín
Granada, Spain
Postoperative inflammation following third molar surgical extraction
Postoperative swelling was determined by measuring tragus-chin distance, tragus-labial cleft distance and eye angle-jaw angle distance, using a millimeter ruler.
Time frame: 7 days
Postoperative trismus following third molar surgical extraction
Postoperative trismus was assessed by measuring the patient's maximum mouth opening (measuring the distance between the incisal edge of the upper central incisor and the lower central incisor) using a millimeter ruler.
Time frame: 7 days
Postoperative pain following third molar surgical extraction
Postoperative pain was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS): patients were asked to assign a numerical value from 0-100 (0 being no pain and 100 the maximum pain).
Time frame: 7 days
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