Page 96 - Demo

Chapter 594DiscussionIn the present study, we aimed to assess how the use of an alveolar iodinecontaining tampon affected postoperative oral health-related quality (OHRQoL) following third mandibular molar surgery. In accordance with previous findings, surgical removal of the impacted mandibular third molar significantly affected OHRQoL during the first postoperative days [1–8]. Postoperative sequelae, such as pain, trismus, swelling, and chewing problems, commonly arise after tissue injury. Numerous researchers have studied the effects of various preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative intervention strategies to avoid or decrease the degree of discomfort due to inflammation induced by tissue injury during the surgical removal of mandibular third molars [26–34]. Here, we demonstrated that the application of an iodine-containing tampon reduced the amount of perceived postoperative discomfort, and thus improved the OHRQoL.We used the OHIP-14 questionnaire to evaluate the effects of iodine-containing tampons on the physical, social, psychological, and functional aspects of daily life. Daily measurement of the mean OHIP-14 sum scores in the iodine tampon group revealed that the scores significantly decreased each day from the first postoperative day to the seventh. In the Monoject syringe group, the mean OHIP-14 sum scores for postoperative days 1 and 2 were similar to the values in a 2012 study by Kieffer et al. [20]. However, on postoperative day 3, the mean OHIP-14 sum score was lower in the Monoject syringe group in our study compared with the Kieffer’s study. This indicated that postoperative irrigation of the extraction socket was beneficial to decrease the amount of discomfort. Ghaeminia et al. previously reported benefits of the use of a Monojectsyringe after mandibular third molar surgery [18]. In the present study, the postoperative extraction sockets were not primarily closed, and thus remained a vulnerable site for debris accumulation.The other major primary outcome measure in our study was the effect of alveolar iodine-containing tampons on postoperative pain intensity. For pain relief, the patients were prescribed ibuprofen 600 mg, commencing immediately after the surgery. Bailey and colleagues proposed that NSAIDS, such as ibuprofen, should be considered the first choice of pain relief medication [35]. In addition