Effects of Different Routs of Dexamethasone Administration on the Complications after Surgical Removal of Impacted Mandibular Third Molar

Introduction: Mandibular third molar surgery is one of the most common oral surgeries in whichpain and swelling is a common finding. The purpose of this study is to compare painand swelling after Surgical Extraction of Mandibular Third Molar in dexamethasoneInjection to Medial pterygoid muscle, gluteal muscle & without corticosteroidmethod.Materials & Methods: This study was a clinical trialon77patients with impacted mandibular third molarattending the School’s oral and maxillofacial department. Patients wererandomlydivided into 3 groups: The first group did not receive any corticosteroid, Thesecond group receive 8 mg dexamethasone in gluteal muscle after surgery and in thirdgroup 8 mg dexamethasone was injected to medial ptrygoidpreoperativly. The painand swelling was measured48 hoursand7 daysaftersurgery. Datas were first analyzedby the Kruskal–Wallis and ANOVA tests, followed by the Mann–Whitney test (pvalue < 0.167)Results: Both groups received dexamethasone in gluteal muscle or inmedialptrygoidhadsignificantlylesspain (p value < 0.001) and swelling (p value < 0.006) at the48-hourfollow-upcomparing with thegroupwithoutcorticosteroids. While there was notany significant difference in 1-week follow up.Conclusion: Injection of dexamethasone in medial pterygoid muscle is effective in reducing postoperative pain and swelling and its effects are comparable with systemic injection inthe gluteal muscle.Key words: Dexamethasone, Third molar, Pain , Swelling.