Anti-inflammatory steroid use in impacted third molar surgery: a systematic review

Oral surgery procedures involve traumatization of mucosal and bony tissues, and lengthy interventions can lead to inflammatory post-operative sequelae. In the bony tissues in particular, the inflammatory processes can affect healing. Modern drug therapies provide valid support for lowering the risk of occurrence of post-operative inflammatory signs. The two main types of agents used are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and/or corticosteroids, which act on two different molecular pathways in the inflammatiory process. The aim of this systematic review is to examine the different corticosteroids used in oral surgery procedures, their indications for use, and their route of administration, to provide the clinician with a useful scheme for correct pharmacological management of post-operative inflammation. To identify studies eligible for inclusion in this systematic review, we performed a literature search up to April 2017 of the electronic databases, considering published papers from 2007 to 2017. The search terms included steroids, third molar, oral surgery, RCT [randomized controlled trial], human, and clinical trial. Only articles in English language were considered.