Comparison of Pain, Swelling and Trismus in the Surgical Removal of Impacted Mandibular Third Molars by following Two Different Flap Techniques

The surgical removal of an impacted mandibular third molar is considered as one of the most frequent minor procedures performed in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The purpose of this study is to clinically compare the post-operative sequelae such as pain, swelling and trismus following two different flap techniques in the surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars. This study was conducted on 40 patients having bilateral impacted mandibular molars. The patients were then randomly allocated to any of the two groups. In 1st group each patient, the incision margins were joined and sutured, without closing the wound, on one side, seeking healing by second intention (Technique 1). On the contralateral side the flap was repositioned to allow healing by first intention (Technique 2). The Technique 1 proved more successful in preventing post-surgical sequelae of impacted third molar removal. Post-operative analysis showed increased amount of pain, swelling and trismus in group 2 as compare to group 1. The results of this study suggest that the healing by secondary intension after impacted lower third molar removal may have considerable contributions to reduce the postoperative swelling, pain and trismus.