Hydrocortisone Injection After Mandibular Impacted Third Molar Surgical Extraction: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Aim:
The purpose of this study was to clinically compare the relative effectiveness of a single dose hydrocortisone administered by two different routes of administration, intravenous or the submucosal route in preventing impacted mandibular third molar surgery sequelae.
Method:
This prospective study was conducted on 90 patients. The patients were selected randomly from the out patient department needing surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars. The patients were then randomly allocated to any of the three groups- the intravenous, the submucosal or the control group. The intravenous group received 4mg Hydrocortisone intravenously, the submucosal group received 4mg Hydrocortisone submucosaly in the mucosa adjacent to the surgical site, and the control group received no dose of steroid. Standardized surgical and analgesic protocols were followed. Maximum mouth opening (interincisal distance), facial swelling were measured at postoperative days 1, 3 and 7. Pain was objectively measured using a visual
analogue scale. The data collected was subjected to students paired‘t’- test
Results:
The submucosal mode proved more successful in preventing swelling and mouth opening over the study period. There was no significant improvement in pain perception in the study groups over the control group.
Conclusion:
The results of this study provide a basis for the submucosal administration of corticosteroids such as Hydrocortisone in a single dose to achieve reduction of postoperative sequelae comparable to other routes of administration. Moreover, there is a convenience for the surgeon to use the submucosal route due to familiarity with the surgical site.