Page 127 - Demo

Effect of periapical surgery on oral health-related quality of life1257IntroductionPeriapical surgery is a therapeutic surgical procedure to treat teeth with periapical inflammation, particularly when orthograde retreatment is problematic or fails to lead to regression of the apical pathology [1-2]. As with any surgery, periapical surgery causes tissue damage and can have both a local and systemic impact that deteriorates the patient’s quality of life (QoL). There has been little emphasis on immediate postoperative outcomes, such as pain, swelling, and the patient’s well-being after periapical surgery, but the number of studies evaluating the influence on QoL during the period following endodontic surgery is growing [3-17]. In the decision-making process regarding endodontic surgery, clinicians need to consider patients’ postoperative discomfort. Pain and swelling are common following periapical surgery, but postoperative pain is reported to be of short duration, with a maximum intensity in the first 48 hours.3-13 Routine daily activities, function, and loss of work are reported to be only moderately impaired.14 Several studies have investigated additional interventions to ameliorate the effect of periapical surgery on postoperative pain and QoL [9,15-17]. The use of corticosteroids has been reported as a pain relief measure in periapical surgery [9], although another study failed to find an effect of submucosal injection of 4 mg dexamethasone on pain, bruising, and wound healing [16]. Conflicting outcomes have also been reported for the use of platelet concentrates in periapical surgery. Del Fabbro et al. [15] found a significant beneficial effect of adjunct platelet concentrate on postoperative QoL, whereas a recent study evaluating the impact of adjunct leukocyte and platelet-rich-fibrin on QoL after periapical surgery found no significant improvement during the first postoperative week [15-17]. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether periapical surgery affects oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) during the first postoperative week. Patients were surveyed using the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHOP14) questionnaire. In addition, we assessed postoperative pain, analgesic intake, and infection in the first postoperative week.