Postoperative oral drug regimen to control the inflammatory complications in mandibular third molar surgery: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Objective: This network meta-analysis aims to rank the best postoperative drug regimen to control inflammatory complications related to mandibular third molar surgery.

Introduction: Many studies of oral drugs have been proposed to control postoperative inflammatory complications after third molar surgeries with inconclusive results. A systematic review with network meta-analysis in this field may clarify the best therapeutic protocol for practice in dentistry.

Inclusion Criteria: This review will consider randomized clinical trials that included healthy adult patients or those who had treated and controlled systemic diseases; asymptomatic patients who were free of acute infection or inflammation at the surgical site immediately before third molar surgery; and patients submitted to surgical removal of one lower third molar at a time in which they have received oral anti-inflammatory and/or analgesics in the postoperative moment. The outcomes are pain, edema, trismus, and adverse effects.

Methods: Sources of published studies, unpublished studies, and gray literature will be searched without time or language restrictions. Titles and abstracts of all search results will be screened by two independent reviewers. The full text of potentially relevant studies will be assessed. Methodological quality of the included studies will be performed using the JBI checklist for experimental studies. Data related to specific details about the population, study methods, interventions, and outcomes will be extracted from the included studies. The findings will be presented in a narrative form and polled in network meta-analysis, when possible.

Systematic Review Registration Number: PROSPERO CRD42020196692.