Comparison of Various Measurement Methods in the Evaluation of Swelling After Third Molar Surgery

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to examine the differences between 12 metric swelling evaluation methods in patients undergoing impacted lower third molar surgery. METHODS: This study was conducted on the patients indicated for the extraction of impacted lower third molar teeth due to orthodontic reasons. Twenty-six patients aged between 18-40 were included in the study. Swelling levels after surgery were measured using anatomic landmarks used for the methods, and the distances between landmarks were measured before the operation, and on days 2 and 7 afterward. The measurements were done using thread and a millimeter ruler while patients were seated. The distances between the anatomical landmarks were evaluated by 12 different methods. RESULTS: According to the results of the measurements performed on twenty-six patients, (15 male and 11 female) with a mean age of 23.85+-6.06 years, male had more swelling than female and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05) although age, and measurement methods had no significant effect on swelling (p>0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: As a result of the present study; twelve swelling evaluation methods showed significantly similar results and the authors recommended using Method 1 and 5 for convenient clinical evaluation which could be performed with a smaller number of anatomical points.

Keywords

• swelling evaluation
• impacted third molar
• metric method