Is Cryotherapy Beneficial After Surgical Removal of Impacted Lower Third Molars?

NCT07370870 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 75651517.4.0000.5347
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative parameters (pain intensity, edema, trismus, and the quality of life) after lower third molar extraction. Patients underwent bilateral extraction of mandibular third molars in a single surgical procedure. Cryotherapy was applied to one side using facial ice packs, while no cryotherapy was performed on the contralateral side. Surgical procedures, postoperative instructions, and prescribed medications were identical for both sides. Consequently, the side treated with ice packs exhibited lower pain intensity, shorter pain duration, and reduced use of rescue medication.

Conditions

Cold Therapy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Effects of cryotherapy on postoperative pain intensity after lower third molar extraction - using a visual analog scale.

  Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative pain intensity following lower third molar extraction using a visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 represents the worst pain imaginable. Pain intensity was recorded daily by the participants over a 7-day postoperative period.

  7 days

• Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative edema after lower third molar extraction - using the mean of three linear facial measurements

  Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative edema following lower third molar extraction using three linear facial measurements: tragus to pogonion, tragus to oral commissure, and lateral canthus to the mandibular angle. Measurements were recorded in millimeters, and the mean of the three values was calculated to quantify edema. Assessments were performed preoperatively and postoperatively on the second and seventh days.

  7 days

• Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative trismus after lower third molar extraction - measuring maximum mouth opening

  Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative trismus following lower third molar extraction by measuring maximum mouth opening. Patients were seated with the tragus-ala plane parallel to the ground. Measurements were obtained using a measuring tape and recorded in millimeters. Assessments were performed on postoperative days 0, 2, and 7.

  7 days

• Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative quality of life after lower third molar extraction - using a questionnaire adapted from the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14)

  Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative quality of life following lower third molar extraction using a questionnaire adapted from the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14), consisting of 14 dichotomous (yes/no) questions addressing daily functional limitations. The questionnaire was administered on the day of surgery and completed by participants on postoperative days 0, 2, and 7.

  7 days

Study Arms (2)

Group A

NO INTERVENTION

Patients in whom postoperative cryotherapy was not applied

Group B

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients in whom postoperative cryotherapy was applied

Other: Cold Therapy

Interventions

Cold Therapy OTHER

Postoperative cold therapy applied with ice packs

Group B

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Indication for bilateral surgical removal of mandibular third molars in similar positions
• Absence of systemic comorbidities
• Absence of local inflammatory processes
• Absence of local infectious processes
• No history of allergy to the prescribed medications
• No chronic use of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, and/or analgesics

You may not qualify if:

• Use of medications other than those prescribed by the surgeon
• Failure to provide the required data

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Henrique Tedesco: lead

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Cryotherapy

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Therapeutics

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Sponsor-Investigator

Model Details: Randomized split-mouth clinical trial

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 2, 2026
• First Posted: January 27, 2026
• Study Start: January 15, 2017
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2017
• Study Completion: December 20, 2017
• Last Updated: January 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01