Close follow-up instead of antibiotic therapy after mandibular third molar surgery: A clinical trial

Prescribing antibiotics (AB) before or after third molar surgery is common among dentists and oral surgeons; however the effectiveness of AB therapy in reducing surgery complications is still contradictory. The aim of this study is to evaluate the healing process after mandibular third molar surgery without AB therapy and to assess the role of close follow-ups on patient's perspective. This study is a semi-empirical, prospective study conducted on 79 healthy patients. After surgical extraction of the impacted or semi-erupted mandibular third molar, assessment of pain, swelling (intergonial width), infection, and sub-periosteal abscess was done during the 1-month follow-ups of patients. The mean difficulty level of surgeries performed in this study was moderate. A significant relationship was found between the pain intensity and the psychological impact of follow-ups (p < 0.05). No fever or sign of infection were seen in any patient. The amount of swelling was significantly related to the difficulty level of surgery (p = 0.001); however, no significant correlation was found between the amount of pain and the level of difficulty. Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that in order to reduce the hazards of AB therapy, close follow-up of patients after surgery can be advised.