title: Does Topical Ozone Therapy Improve Patient Comfort After Surgical Removal of Impacted Mandibular Third Molar? A Randomized Controlled Trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the influence of topical ozone administration on patient comfort after third molar surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A single-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial was designed involving patients who required removal of bilateral impacted mandibular third molars. The predictor variable was the postoperative medication used after third molar surgery. Using the split-mouth design, the study group received topical ozone without postoperative systemic antibiotics, whereas the control group did not receive ozone but only systemic antibiotics. The 2 groups were prescribed analgesics for 2 days. The assessing surgeon was blinded to treatment assignment. The primary outcome variables were postoperative mouth opening, pain, and swelling. The secondary outcome variable was the number of analgesic doses required by each group on postoperative days 3 to 5. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, paired t tests, and 2-way analysis of variance with repeated measures (P < .05). SPSS 20.0 was used for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study sample included 33 patients (n = 33 in each group). The study group showed statistically relevant decreases in postoperative pain, swelling, and trismus. Further, the number of analgesics required was smaller than in the control group. No adverse effects of ozone gel were observed in any patient.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ozone gel was found to be an effective topical agent that considerably improves patient comfort postoperatively and can be considered a substitute of postoperative systemic antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Trainee, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, SRM Dental College and Hospital, Ramapuram, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Varun P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Sivalingam
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, SRM Dental College and Hospital, Ramapuram, Chennai, India. Electronic address: elavenilomfs@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Elavenil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Panneerselvam
authors.affiliation: Professor and Head, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, SRM Dental College and Hospital, Ramapuram, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Krishnakumar V B
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Raja
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, SRM Dental College and Hospital, Ramapuram, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Gayathri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gopi
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000328:Adult; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery*; D010126:Ozone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000379:methods*; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D005782:Gels; D010126:Ozone