RESUMO
PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of oral dexamethasone 4 mg in a single dose preemptively administered to reduce pain, swelling, and trismus following mandibular third molar surgeries. METHODS: A split-mouth randomized clinical trial was performed including 22 participants undergoing surgical removal of bilateral and symmetrically positioned third molars. A total of 44 teeth were allocated by simple randomization to either the test or nonintervention/control side. Oral dexamethasone 4 mg was administered on the test side an hour before the surgery. All of the participants were unaware of the medication studied, and only 1 surgeon, blinded to the medication intake, performed all of the procedures. Anti-inflammatory effect was evaluated using the clinical parameters of mouth opening, swelling, and rescue analgesic medication intake to control pain. The statistical analysis was blinded to the allocation groups, and a significance value P < .05 was adopted for all the tests. RESULTS: Dexamethasone reduced the mean of rescue analgesic medication intake by 5 times (P = .002). Facial swelling was lower on the test side by 72h postsurgery in comparison with the control side (P = .036). No significant difference in mouth opening was found between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Preemptive use of oral dexamethasone 4 mg proved to be effective in controlling pain and reducing the need for rescue medication and had a beneficial effect in reducing swelling during a short postoperative period.