Vitamin C and dental healing: testing and placebo effect.

The present study augments a growing body of evidence that indicates supplemental vitamin C may be beneficial in speeding healing following tooth extraction and in reducing the likelihood of alveolalgia and other complications. No adverse side effects were encountered from administration of vitamin C in our studies or in a recent investigation involving intake of 10 g/day; thus, carefully tested higher dosages ("megadose therapy") might be applied successfully to patients with alveolalgia or orthognathic conditions. Hanck comments on the relative safety of ascorbic acid in medicine: "The few literature references suggesting adverse effects of ascorbic acid are outnumbered by a large number of clinical studies in which no adverse effects have been observed. Up to 5 g of ascorbic acid daily may be administered safely even over a long-term". Further research is recommended to determine whether vitamin C is of similar value in hastening proper recovery from other oral surgical procedures. Vitamin C is a relatively safe, inexpensive, over-the-counter product that may be more effective in dental healing than previously known.