Pain Relief and Antimicrobial Activity in Alveolar Osteitis after Platelet-Rich Fibrin Application—A Non-Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

The objective was to compare pain relief in alveolar osteitis achieved by the application of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) and aspirin cones, and to assess the influence of both treatments on bacterial concentrations in post-extraction wounds. A split-mouth, single-center, non-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 30 patients. Pain relief was assessed using the visual analog scale at three time points (before, 24 h after, and 48 h after intervention). Bacterial concentrations were evaluated from cultures of swab samples collected at the three time points. A Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test was performed to detect differences in distributions of scalar variables between treatment with PRF and aspirin cones. Pain relief at 24 h and 48 h after treatment was significantly higher (p = 0.003) with PRF application than with aspirin cone placement. Additionally, PRF application caused a significantly higher reduction in aerobic bacteria concentration, an average increase, instead of a decrease, in lactic acid bacilli concentration in the first 24 h, and a significantly greater increase in streptococci concentration at 48 h follow-up. PRF provides better pain relief than aspirin cones in alveolar osteitis. Bacterial concentrations in the extraction wounds are consistent with the pain relief achieved after PRF or aspirin application.