EFFICACY OF SUBLINGUAL VERSUS ORAL PIROXICAM IN MANAGEMENT OF POST-SURGICAL PAIN, SWELLING AND TRISMUS AFTER LOWER 3RD MOLAR SURGERY- A RANDOMIZED CONTROL CLINICAL TRIAL

Background of the study: Third molar surgical removal is a common procedure in oral and maxillofacial surgery, causing moderate to severe pain, swelling, and trismus. Postoperative pain control improves patient recovery and oral function, with commonly used analgesics including Ibuprofen, Aceclofenac, Ketorolac, Tramadol, Paracetamol, Nalbuphine, Nimusulide, and Buprenorphine. Aim and Objective: The study compares oral and sub-lingual Piroxicam for managing post-surgical pain after extraction of impacted third molars, focusing on analgesia onset, pain intensity, swelling, and trismus degree. Materials and method: A randomized control trial was conducted on 30 patients who underwent surgical removal of mandibular impacted third molars. The patients were divided into two groups: Group I (Study) and Group II (Control). All patients underwent the procedure by a single surgeon. Post-operative medications were prescribed according to the study design, with Piroxicam 20mg administered sub-lingually (Group I) and 20mg orally (Group II). The parameters were assessed and measured for both groups, and the results and statistical analysis were compared. Result: The results revealed that the inter-group difference for the post-operative symptoms evaluated using a t-test for Equality of means by comparing the pre-op, POD 2, POD 7 values was statistically significant. Mean onset time taken and pain perception by Group I (Sub-lingual) in the first dose was 32.3 minutes and for Group II was 51.21 minutes which was established to be significantly (P<0.05) low for the sub-lingual group by statistical analysis. Conclusion: The study found that the sublingual route of administering Piroxicam had a faster onset of action and better analgesia postoperatively compared to the oral route. This is crucial for patients and surgeons to improve compliance and comfort post-operatively after impaction surgery, as potent analgesics are essential for effective pain management.