Effect of Submucosal Injection of Tramadol on Postoperative Pain After Third Molar Surgery

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of submucosal injection of tramadol in treating postoperative pain after surgical extraction of impacted mandibular third molars.

We implemented a randomized controlled trial. The sample was divided into 30 cases (receiving tramadol injection) and 30 controls (receiving saline solution injection). Patients were asked to complete a visual analog pain scale (VAPS) at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours. Patients also were asked to note the time at which rescue analgesics were taken, as well as the total number of analgesics taken. The VAPS data were analyzed using the unpaired Student t test. Other variables were analyzed using analysis of variance with the Bonferroni t test and Pearson χ² test. P < .05 was considered significant.

A total of 60 patients, 32 men and 28 women (mean age, 27.78 years; age range, 19 to 45 years), took part in this study. Postoperative pain scores, as recorded on the VAPS, were significantly lower in the tramadol group, with the differences being statistically significant at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours (P < 0.001, P = .006, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). The mean time at which the first tablet was taken and the total number of tablets taken by the tramadol group also were statistically significant (P = .001 for both).

The results suggest that submucosal injection of tramadol has a significant effect on postoperative pain control after surgical extraction of impacted third molars.