Tetracycline, tetracycline + gelatin sponge and placebo on postoperative pain after mandibular molar extraction

Abstract

Background: Surgical removal of lower third molars is a common oral surgical procedure which causes more severe pain in comparison to the other types of oral surgery. The present study was conducted to compare tetracycline, tetracycline + gelatin sponge and placebo on postoperative pain after mandibular molar extraction. Materials & Methods: 90 patients undergoing mandibular third molar extraction of both genders were randomly divided into three groups of 30 each. Group I patients were treated with intrasocket tetracycline alone, group II patients were treated with intrasocket tetracycline + gelatin sponge and group III patients were treated without any intrasocket medicaments. The postoperative pain scores were evaluated at 24 hours, 48 hours, and 7 days postoperatively. Results: There were 16 males and 14 females in group I, 12 males and 18 females in group II and 10 males and 20 females in group III. The mean VAS at 24 hours in group I was 32.4, at 48 hours was 33.1 and at 7 days was 25.2, in group II was 28.5, 28.2 and 25.0 and in group III was 38.5, 39.1 and 35.7 at 24 hours, 48 hours and 7 days respectively. The difference was significant (P< 0.05).