Preemptive use of oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the relief of inflammatory events after surgical removal of lower third molars: A systematic review with meta-analysis of placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness of preemptive analgesia with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for the relief of inflammatory events (pain, edema, and trismus) after surgical removal of third molars.

Materials and methods: A two-phase PROSPERO-registered systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, COCHRANE, LILACS, DOSS, and gray literature were searched using the following terms (MeSH) or their combinations: molar, third; anti-inflammatory agents, non-steroidal; analgesia; preoperative period; pain management.

Results: From a total of 2903 articles, 31 (n = 2184 subjects) were selected. All studies presented a low risk of bias but exhibited high heterogeneity in methodology. Ten studies were selected for the meta-analysis. Preemptive analgesia for removal of third molars reduced average pain scores, especially those 1 h and 6 h after surgery (n = 151, p < 0.001, 95% CI = -2.81 to -0.97), reduced the average consumption of medication, and decreased the number of patients requiring medication without affecting the average time for its first consumption.

Conclusion: In summary, most NSAIDs showed good results for inflammatory events and reduced average pain scores and consumption of rescue medication. However, more homogeneous and well-delineated clinical studies are necessary to determine a possible association between NSAIDs and the relief of inflammatory events.

Keywords: Analgesia; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Pain management; Preoperative period; Third molar.