EFFICACY OF TWO DIFFERENT ANTIBIOTICS IN MANAGEMENT OF POST-OPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS OF IMPACTED THIRD MOLAR

Abstract

Objective: To determine the efficacy of two different antibiotics in reducing the postoperative complications of impacted third molar. Materials and Methods: Total of 48 participants were included in this randomized control trial conducted in Feb 2019 to Feb 2020, which were divided into two groups by block randomization where group A was prescribed with amoxicillin while group B was prescribed with metronidazole. On 3rd and 7th post-operative day after the extraction pain was assessed using a 10mm visual analogue scale (VAS) while, maximum mouth opening was assessed using a Vernier caliper. Wound infection and alveolar osteitis were documented as dichotomous variable. Pain and mouth opening were evaluated using t-test or Mann-Whitney U test while alveolar osteitis and wound infections were compared using Chi-square and Fischer’s exact test. SPSS version 22 was used for analysis. P value <0.05 was taken as significant. Results: The results of individual groups revealed no difference in decreasing the postoperative complications after surgical extraction. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of mean age, VAS score and mouth opening at 3rd and 7th postoperative day (p>0.5). We found no significant association between antibiotics and incidence of wound infection and alveolar osteitis (p>0.5). Conclusion: Antibiotics have no significant role in reducing the postoperative pain, limited mouth opening, wound infection and alveolar osteitis. Hence, the use of antibiotic should be limited to surgeon’s choice.