Is Cryotherapy Beneficial After Surgical Removal of Impacted Lower Third Molars?

Is Cryotherapy Beneficial After Surgical Removal of Impacted Lower Third Molars? - A Randomized Split Mouth Clinical Trial

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative parameters (pain intensity, edema, trismus, and the quality of life) after lower third molar extraction. Patients underwent bilateral extraction of mandibular third molars in a single surgical procedure. Cryotherapy was applied to one side using facial ice packs, while no cryotherapy was performed on the contralateral side. Surgical procedures, postoperative instructions, and prescribed medications were identical for both sides. Consequently, the side treated with ice packs exhibited lower pain intensity, shorter pain duration, and reduced use of rescue medication.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cold Therapy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Cold Therapy

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria

• Indication for bilateral surgical removal of mandibular third molars in similar positions
• Absence of systemic comorbidities
• Absence of local inflammatory processes
• Absence of local infectious processes
• No history of allergy to the prescribed medications
• No chronic use of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, and/or analgesics

Exclusion Criteria

• Use of medications other than those prescribed by the surgeon
• Failure to provide the required data

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Group A; Patients in whom postoperative cryotherapy was not applied
Experimental: Group B; Patients in whom postoperative cryotherapy was applied	Other: Cold Therapy; Postoperative cold therapy applied with ice packs

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Effects of cryotherapy on postoperative pain intensity after lower third molar extraction - using a visual analog scale.	Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative pain intensity following lower third molar extraction using a visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 represents the worst pain imaginable. Pain intensity was recorded daily by the participants over a 7-day postoperative period.	7 days
Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative edema after lower third molar extraction - using the mean of three linear facial measurements	Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative edema following lower third molar extraction using three linear facial measurements: tragus to pogonion, tragus to oral commissure, and lateral canthus to the mandibular angle. Measurements were recorded in millimeters, and the mean of the three values was calculated to quantify edema. Assessments were performed preoperatively and postoperatively on the second and seventh days.	7 days
Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative trismus after lower third molar extraction - measuring maximum mouth opening	Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative trismus following lower third molar extraction by measuring maximum mouth opening. Patients were seated with the tragus-ala plane parallel to the ground. Measurements were obtained using a measuring tape and recorded in millimeters. Assessments were performed on postoperative days 0, 2, and 7.	7 days
Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative quality of life after lower third molar extraction - using a questionnaire adapted from the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14)	Evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative quality of life following lower third molar extraction using a questionnaire adapted from the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14), consisting of 14 dichotomous (yes/no) questions addressing daily functional limitations. The questionnaire was administered on the day of surgery and completed by participants on postoperative days 0, 2, and 7.	7 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Henrique Tedesco

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 15, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 30, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): December 20, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 2, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): January 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 27, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Therapeutics; Cryotherapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: 75651517.4.0000.5347 (Other Identifier: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No