A comparative study of the effect of two dosages of submucosal injection of dexamethasone on postoperative discomfort after third molar surgery: a prospective randomized study

The aim of this clinical study was to evaluate and compare the relative efficacy of two different dosages of dexamethasone, i.e., 4 and 8 mg injected submucosally to reduce postoperative discomfort after mandibular third molar surgery. A prospective randomized study was conducted on 45 patients requiring surgical removal of an impacted third molar. Selected patients were divided randomly into three groups of 15 patients each: group I patients received one regimen single dose of 4 mg dexamethasone submucosally, group II received one regimen single dose of 8 mg dexamethasone submucosally, and group III (control group), no dexamethasone was given but only received injection of normal saline submucosally after establishing local anesthesia. The postoperative sequelae were assessed on the second and seventh postoperative day. As compared to group III, groups I and II showed statistically significant reduction in pain and swelling whereas no statistically significant difference was found between the test groups. It can be concluded that corticosteroids are effective in curtailing the postoperative edema of lower third molar surgery but have negligible analgesic effect. As no statistically significant difference is found between both the regimes of dexamethasone, i.e., 4 and 8 mg so within the confines of our study, it may be concluded that 4 mg dexamethasone can be given safely to reduce the postoperative edema after the third molar surgery.