Internal medicine

Cochrane Library

Trismus

Dexamethasone

Meta-analysis

Surgery

Randomized controlled trial

Dentistry

Molar

Anesthesia

Clinical trial

Medicine

The Open Dentistry Journal

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the clinical efficacy of two routes of dexamethasone administration in reducing the postoperative sequelae after third molar extraction. Electronic databases (PUBMED, SCOPUS and EBSCO library) were screened in order to find both randomized and non-randomized clinical trials that directly compare the submucosal intraoral or the intramuscular extraoral administration of dexamethasone. No restriction about year of publication was imposed. About 340 titles and abstracts were screened independently by two authors. Of these [340 titles], only 4 randomized clinical trials met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. No statistical differences in postoperative pain, swelling and trismus were recorded comparing the intraoral submucosal and the extraoral intramuscular injection of dexamethasone in an extra-oral site.

Comparison of Two Routes of Administration of Dexamethasone to Reduce the Postoperative Sequelae After Third Molar Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis