ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT05941130Updated Jul 12, 2023

3D Evaluation of Postoperative Edema After Third Molar Surgery

A Phase 4 interventional study of Combination of corticosteroid (methylprednisolone - Medrol, 16mg Pfizer Laboratories) therapy and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (Ibuprofen 600mg Mylan) therapy and Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory therapy (Ibuprofen 600mg Mylan) in Molar, Third, Third Molar Surgery and Soft Tissue Swelling, sponsored by Implantology Institute. Recruiting at 1 site in Portugal. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-07-12.

Sponsored by Implantology Institute · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Oct 2023, 3 years ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Registered 4 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jul 2022, registered Nov 2022).
  • Started Jul 2022; still recruiting 4 years 4 months later.
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Randomized
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Surgical removal of third molars is recognized as one of the most frequent procedures performed in oral surgery. Literature is rich in studies attempting to demonstrate the benefit of corticosteroids in third molar surgery, however the variety of methods, doses, routes and timing of administration has hampered the standardization of their use in light of best evidence. Also the use of 3D facial superimposition methodology to measure and analyze facial swelling after third molar surgery is a relatively new and promising technology.

Read the detailed description

Surgical removal of third molars is recognized as one of the most frequent procedures performed in oral surgery. It is estimated that more than 50% of the population experience problems with their third molars, including impaction or other pathologies. Usually, recovery from third molar surgical procedures is straightforward, however some immediate side effects can be expected such as discomfort (pain), edema and trismus that are resolved within a few days. These results from postoperative tissue inflammatory response which present individual variations. Depending on the intensity of these postoperative symptoms and the severity of inflammatory response, daily activities may be temporarily affected and patient's overall quality of life might be impaired.

Factors as surgical technique, type of impaction, duration of the procedure, surgical complications and an inadequate pharmacotherapy may influence the severity of symptoms. Although edema and discomfort after the surgery cannot be completely eliminated, the possibility of reducing the frequency and severity of complications and improve patient's quality of life have been investigated.

Synthetic corticosteroids are widely used in surgery to control and reduce the post-surgical inflammatory response and pain since they limit inflammation and edema by reducing vascular dilatation and fluids transudation Literature is rich in studies attempting to demonstrate the benefit of corticosteroids in third molar surgery, however the variety of methods, doses, routes and timing of administration has hampered the standardization of their use in light of best evidence. To maximize the effectiveness in controlling both pain and swelling it is described in literature the combination of both NSAID and corticosteroids after third molar surgery, nevertheless reluctance and controversy regarding their coadministration in oral surgery still exists.

The use of 3D facial superimposition methodology to measure and analyze facial swelling after third molar surgery is a relatively new and promising technology that allows a high level of accuracy and a quantitative analysis of this outcome having a great potential to become the standard method for evaluating volumes and distances in facial and body anatomy.

02

Conditions studied

  • Molar, Third
  • Third Molar Surgery
  • Soft Tissue Swelling
  • Pain, Postoperative
  • Quality of Life

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • Third molar surgery
  • Three-dimensional imaging
  • postoperative Pain
  • Quality of Life
  • Oral surgery
03

In context

Pain, Postoperative

5,640 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain, Postoperative; 1,230 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 75 across 4,821 interventional studies indexed under Pain, Postoperative.

Browse Pain, Postoperative studies →

Lead sponsor

Implantology Institute is the lead sponsor of 17 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Individuals requiring surgical extraction of fully or partially impacted third molars requiring osteotomy;
  • Individuals classified as grade I or II of the (ASA)
  • Individuals with compliance to cooperate with the research protoco

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals with active bleeding or coagulation disorders
  • Individuals with history of intolerance or to the drugs included in the postoperative medication protocol
  • Pregnant or lactating women
  • Individuals with cysts or tumors around the embedded third molar
  • Individuals who did not attend the control visits.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

ASA physical status

The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
40 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Group A

    Patients assigned into group A (NSAID) will receive only Ibuprofen 600mg (Mylan)

    Drug: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory therapy (Ibuprofen 600mg Mylan)

  • Experimental
    Group B

    Patients assigned into group B (CORT + NSAID) will receive Ibuprofen 600mg (Mylan) with methylprednisolone (Medrol, 16mg Pfizer Laboratories)

    Drug: Combination of corticosteroid (methylprednisolone - Medrol, 16mg Pfizer Laboratories) therapy and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (Ibuprofen 600mg Mylan) therapy

Interventions

  • DrugCombination of corticosteroid (methylprednisolone - Medrol, 16mg Pfizer Laboratories) therapy and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (Ibuprofen 600mg Mylan) therapy

    Facial swelling assessment with a tridimensional method, pain and patient's quality of life will be evaluated after impacted third molar surgery, when NSAID are prescribed either alone (group A) or in combination with a corticosteroid (group B).Patients will be randomized before surgery into two groups regarding postoperative anti-inflammatory prescription. Half will receive postoperative steroid anti-inflammatory

    Also known as: CORT+NSAID

  • Facial swelling assessment with a tridimensional method, pain and patient's quality of life will be evaluated after impacted third molar surgery, when NSAID are prescribed either alone (group A) or in combination with a corticosteroid (group B).Patients will be randomized before surgery into two groups regarding postoperative anti-inflammatory prescription. Half will receive postoperative non-steroid anti-inflammatory

    Also known as: NSAID

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Facial swelling

    To evaluate postoperative facial swelling after impacted third molar surgery by using a 3D facial scanner in two different groups: A-NSAID alone; B - corticosteroid + NSAID. Each patient will perform three sets of facial soft tissue evaluation: before surgery (t0); 2 days postoperatively (t2) and 7 days postoperatively (t7). The changes in facial soft tissue volume after surgery will be qualitatively and volumetrically evaluated by using the previously validated 3D assessment with a 3D facial scanner (Bellus3D, version 2.2.1; Inc. Los Gatos, CA, USA) connected to a smartphone (Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite, Android version 9) via USB. Facial swelling will be determined by quantifying volumetric changes by using the superposition methodology and the alignment by the best fit algorithm of the pre and postoperative images, with Geomagic® software (Geomagic Inc., North Carolina, USA)

    Time frame: 7 postoperative days

Secondary outcomes

  1. Postoperative Pain

    Postoperative pain will be assessed by using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain. The Visual Analogue Scale for Pain ranges from 0 that represents "no pain" at the left pole to 100 (100mm scale) which represents 'worst imaginable pain" at the right pole Immediately before surgery, a form will be given to each patient with the scale and they will be instructed to place a line perpendicular to the Visual Analogue Scale line at the point that represents their level of pain at different times: immediately before surgery (t0), at review appointments on postoperative days 2 (t2) and 7 (t7). They will be also instructed to record the type and frequency of rescue medication taken to manage their pain levels.

    Time frame: 7 postoperative days

  2. Patient's quality of life

    To assess oral health-related quality of life and to better understand patients' experience during the recovery period after third molar surgery, a short-form derivative of the Oral Health Impact Profile-49, the OHIP-14 will be used. The validated portuguese version of the selfreported 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire will be completed by the patients before surgery (t0) and at postoperative days 2 (t2) and 7 (t7). The patients will be asked to respond according to frequency of impact on a 5-point Likert scale coded as: never (score 0), hardly ever (score 1), occasionally (score 2), fairly often (score 3) and very often (score 4) using a 12-months recall period.

    Time frame: 7 postoperative days

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 12, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05941130
Lead sponsor
Implantology Institute
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 12, 2023
Start date
Jul 1, 2022
Primary completion
Oct 15, 2023 (estimated)
Completion
Apr 30, 2024 (estimated)
Last update
Jul 12, 2023

Study contacts

Duarte Marques, DDS PhD
Contact
d.marques@institutoimplantologia.com
+351 217 210 980
João Caramês, DDS PhD
study director · Implantology Institute
Helena Francisco, DDS PhD
study chair · Implantology Institute
Catarina Pinto, DDS
principal investigator · Implantology Institute

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Interested in this study?

Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.

Contact study team

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion