Preemptive analgesia in third molar surgery: A randomized clinical trial comparing two multimodal associations

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to verify the effect of preemptive administration of dexamethasone 8 mg co-administered with paracetamol 1 g compared with dexamethasone 8 mg co-administered with nimesulide 100 mg in surgeries for extracting third molars. Methods: A prospective, randomized, triple-blind clinical trial was conducted, allocating patients into two groups by the split-mouth method: Group 1 received dexamethasone and paracetamol, and Group 2 received dexamethasone and nimesulide. Each patient underwent two surgeries on different occasions, evaluating the parameters: pain, number of consumed rescue analgesics, time to the first rescue analgesic consumption, edema, trismus, and patient satisfaction. Results: Similar results were found in pain, trismus, number of rescue analgesics ingested, time until ingesting the first rescue analgesic, and overall assessment variables. However, Group 1 showed better results regarding edema, with a statistically significant difference in the 48-h period (p=0.028). Conclusion: Dexamethasone 8 mg plus paracetamol 1 g is effective for preemptive analgesia.