Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jan 1;18(1):e65-70.
doi: 10.4317/medoral.18039.

Prediction of postoperative facial swelling, pain and trismus following third molar surgery based on preoperative variables

Thiago de Santana-Santos  1 , adson-Alípio-Santana de Souza-Santos, Paulo-Ricardo-Saquete Martins-Filho, Luiz-Carlos-Ferreira da Silva, Emanuel-Dias de Oliveira E Silva, Ana-Claudia-Amorim Gomes
Affiliations

Prediction of postoperative facial swelling, pain and trismus following third molar surgery based on preoperative variables

Thiago de Santana-Santos et al. Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. .

Abstract

Objective: This paper investigates the relationship between preoperative findings and short-term outcome in third molar surgery.

Study design: A prospective study was carried out involving 80 patients who required 160 surgical extractions of impacted mandibular third molars between January 2009 and December 2010. All extractions were performed under local anesthesia by the same dental surgeon. Swelling and maximal inter-incisor distance were measured at 48 h and on the 7th day postoperatively. Mean visual analogue pain scores were determined at four different time periods.

Results: One-hundred eight (67.5%) of the 160 extractions were performed on male subjects and 52 (32.5%) were performed on female subjects. Median age was 22.46 years. The amount of facial swelling varied depending on gender and operating time. Trismus varied depending on gender, operating time and tooth sectioning. The influence of age, gender and operating time varied depending on the pain evaluation period (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Short-term outcomes of third molar operations (swelling, trismus and pain) differ depending on the patients' characteristics (age, gender and body mass index). Moreover, surgery characteristics such as operating time and tooth sectioning were also associated with postoperative variables.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Akadiri OA, Obiechina AE. Assessment of difficulty in third molar surgery--a systematic review. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2009;67:771–4. - PubMed
    1. MacGregor AJ. The radiological assessment of ectopic lower third molars. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1979;61:107–13. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Seymour RA, Kelly PJ, Hawkesford JE. The efficacy of ketoprofen and paracetamol (acetaminophen) in postoperative pain after third molar surgery. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1996;41:581–5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Capuzzi P, Montebugnoli L, Vaccaro MA. Extraction of impacted third molars. A longitudinal prospective study on factors that affect postoperative recovery. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1994;77:341–3. - PubMed
    1. Slade GD, Foy SP, Shugars DA, Phillips C, White RP Jr. The impact of third molar symptoms, pain, and swelling on oral health-related quality of life. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2004;62:1118–24. - PubMed