Reduction of pain, swelling and trismus: benefits of using intramuscular dexamethasone as preemptive medication in oral surgery

Abstract

Postoperative complications such as edema, pain, and trismus are common in oral surgery. Therapies, such as the use of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, are indicated for the reversal of these complications. However, preoperative (preemptive) interventions can be alternatives. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of dexamethasone on edema, pain intensity, and mouth opening (trismus) in the postoperative period of removal of impacted lower third molars. Patients (n = 14, 9 women) were included in a clinical, crossover, blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, and divided mouth study. Preemptive mediation (dexamethasone 8mg, intramuscular, masseter muscle) or placebo (saline) was randomly given before the first surgery. The contralateral procedure was performed 21 days later. In the postoperative period, edema, mouth opening (preoperative, 3 and 7 days), and spontaneous pain (immediately, 2 and 24 hours, 3 days and 7 days) were analyzed. The data were analyzed using the one-way repeated-measures anova followed by Fisher's LSD post hoc. Compared to placebo, the medication reduced edema (3 days), pain (2 and 24 hours), and trismus (3 days). The results suggest that the preemptive use of dexamethasone is able to increase the well-being of patients undergoing oral surgeries, with the potential to reduce postoperative costs.