Submucosal Infiltration versus Intravenous Administration of Dexamethasone in Decreasing Post-operative Inflammatory Sequelae after Third Molar Surgery - A Comparative Study.

Introduction: Surgical removal of lower third molar is one of the most common surgical procedures and is quite stressful for many patients. In this study, two different routes of administration of dexamethasone 8 mg (intravenous [IV] vs. submucosally infiltrated) were used to evaluate the role of dexamethasone in reducing the post-operative inflammatory sequelae following lower third molar removal.

Materials And Methods: Sixty patients who had to undergo surgical removal of mandibular third molars were randomly divided into two groups, each group consisting of 30 patients. One group of patients was administered 8 mg dexamethasone submucosally five min before the surgery. Another group of patients received 8 mg dexamethasone intravenously five min before the surgery. Facial swelling and pain were measured on the 2, 4 and 7 post-operative days.

Results: The results of this study revealed that both the routes were effective in controlling post-operative pain and swelling. IV route of dexamethasone showed higher efficacy compared to submucosal (SM) route of dexamethasone in reducing the post-operative inflammatory sequelae in the surgical removal of impacted lower third molar teeth.

Discussion: It was seen that IV dexamethasone (8 mg) and submucosal dexamethasone (8 mg) had equivalent ratings in terms of reduction of swelling and pain. Although the results of this study showed both the routes are effective in controlling post-operative swelling and pain after third molar surgery, the study concluded that certain benefits of submucosal route make the sm route to be a valuable alternative to iv dexamethasone.