The effect of methylprednisolone on pain, trismus, and swelling after removal of third molars

Abstract

Thirty-one healthy patients whose third molars needed to be removed were randomly placed into two groups. Before sedation the control group (n = 16) received normal saline solution and the experimental group (n = 15) received 125 mg of methylprednisolone intravenously. Swelling was measured by photographic and face-bow techniques, trismus was determined by measuring maximal interincisal opening, and pain was evaluated by asking the patients to report the number of pain pills they used and assess th severity of their pain daily. The swelling and pain, but not the trismus, that developed after third molar removal were significantly reduced by a single dose of methylprednisolone.