title: Quality of life following third molar removal under conscious sedation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess quality of life (QoL) and degree of satisfaction among outpatients subjected to surgical extraction of all four third molars under conscious sedation. A second objective was to describe the evolution of self-reported pain measured in a visual analogue scale (VAS) in the 7 days after extraction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty patients received a questionnaire assessing social isolation, working isolation, eating and speaking ability, diet modifications, sleep impairment, changes in physical appearance, discomfort at suture removal and overall satisfaction at days 4 and 7 after surgery. Pain was recorded by patients on a 100-mm pain visual analogue scale (VAS) every day after extraction until day 7.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-nine patients fulfilled correctly the questionnaire. Postoperative pain values suffered small fluctuations until day 5 (range: 23 to 33 mm in a 100-mm VAS), when dicreased significantly. A positive association was observed between difficult ranked surgeries and higher postoperative pain levels. The average number of days for which the patient stopped working was 4.9.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The removal of all third molars in a single appointment causes an important deterioration of the patient's QoL during the first postoperative week, especially due to local pain and eating discomfort.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sancho-Puchades
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valmaseda-Castellón
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berini-Aytés
authors.forename: Cosme
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gay-Escoda
mesh_terms: D016292:Procedural Sedation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014081:Tooth Extraction; D055815:Young Adult