Do perioperative antibiotics reduce complications of mandibular third molar removal? A double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial Mariscal Cazalla, María del Mar Manzano-Moreno, Francisco Javier García-Vázquez, Marta Vallecillo Capilla, Manuel Francisco Olmedo Gaya, María Victoria This study was supported by the Master in Oral Surgery and Implant Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Granada, Spain. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different antibiotic prophylaxis regimens versus placebo in relation to possible postoperative complications derived from the surgical extraction of impacted lower third molars. Study design: The final study sample of this double-blind randomized controlled trial comprised 92 Caucasian volunteers. Patients were assigned to 3 groups by using a randomization table. Group 1 (n = 30) received 750 mg oral amoxicillin both before and after the surgery; group 2 (n = 32) received the same oral dose after surgery alone; and group 3 (n = 30) received placebo both before and after surgery. Infectious complications, postoperative pain, and inflammation intensity were measured. The requirement for and the timing of rescue medication were also measured. Results: Postoperative pain and inflammation intensity were significantly higher (P < .05) in group 3 than in groups 1 or 2 at 48 hours, 72 hours, and 1 week. A significantly higher proportion of group 3 required rescue medication (analgesics and rescue antibiotics) (P = .013) compared with groups 1 or 2. Conclusions: Greater pain and inflammation were experienced by patients receiving placebo before lower third molar extraction than by those receiving antibiotics either before surgery or both before and after surgery. Other options, such as use of local antibiotics, should be considered to reduce the problems, including bacterial resistance, caused by overuse of systemic antibiotics. 2024-09-05T08:39:19Z 2024-09-05T08:39:19Z 2021-03 journal article Mariscal-Cazalla et al. Do perioperative antibiotics reduce complications of mandibular third molar removal? A double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology 131, 3, 2021, Pages 286-294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oooo.2020.08.034 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/93982 10.1016/j.oooo.2020.08.034 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Elsevier