Prospective double-blind clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of Bromelain in the third molar extraction postoperative period

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of Bromelain (pineapple extract) administered orally in the postoperative after extraction of impacted lower molars. STUDY DESIGN This is a prospective, placebo-controlled, unicentric, double-blind study; the sample size was 34 patients. The pre and postoperative outcomes, evaluated on the third (D3) and eighth day (D8), included inflamtion, pain and oral aperture, as well as the need for analgesics. One group received Bromelain 150mg per day for three days and 100mg on days 4 to 7. The other group received placebo in the same dosage. All outcomes werrecorded quantitatively and analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U test for independent samples. RESULTS Although there were no statistically significant differences between the treatment groups, a trend towards less inflammation and improved oral aperture was observed in the group that received Bromelain, compared to the group that received placebo. This trend can be attributed completely to random reasons, since there is no statistical difference in the results. CONCLUSIONS Further studies are necessary to analyze different administration patterns and doses of Bromelain for the use in the postoperative of impacted third molars.