Influence of primary and secondary closure of surgical wound after impacted mandibular third molar removal on postoperative pain and swelling--a comparative and split mouth study.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the present study was to compare the influence of primary and secondary closure of the surgical wound on postoperative pain and swelling after removal of impacted mandibular third molars.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 93 patients with bilaterally impacted mandibular third molars were included in the present study. All the patients underwent surgical removal of the bilaterally impacted teeth at the same appointment. Primary closure (group I) was performed on 1 side and secondary closure (group II) was performed on the other side. All the patients were assessed for pain and swelling using the visual analog scale, and the data were collected and analyzed with the paired t test after 7 days.

RESULTS

The swelling in group I was greater than that in group II, with a statistically significant difference (P < .001). The pain was worse in group I than in group II; a difference that also was statistically significant (P < .05). Alveolar osteitis occurred in 4 patients (4.3%) in group I and 3 patients (3.2%) in group II.

CONCLUSION

Our results have shown that the patients in the secondary closure group had a significantly lesser amount of pain and swelling postoperatively than the primary closure group.