THE IMPACT OF PREOPERATIVE SALIVARY UREA AND SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE ACTIVITIES ON POSTOPERATIVE PAIN AFTER SURGICAL...

Area of Science:

• Oral Surgery
• Biochemistry
• Pain Management

Background:

• Mandibular third molar extraction is a common oral surgery procedure.
• Postoperative complications like pain, swelling, and trismus frequently occur.
• Understanding predictive biomarkers for pain is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between salivary urea and antioxidative enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase) with postoperative pain intensity.
• To explore the potential of salivary biomarkers in predicting pain after wisdom tooth extraction.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional prospective study involving 66 subjects undergoing mandibular third molar extraction.
• Salivary urea and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured using enzymatic colorimetric tests.
• Postoperative pain was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and categorized into low, mild, and severe pain groups.

Main Results:

• A moderate positive correlation was observed between salivary urea concentration and SOD activity (r=0.46).
• A moderate negative correlation was found between salivary urea concentration and VAS pain scores at 12 hours post-extraction (r=0.51).
• Salivary urea concentrations significantly differed across the three VAS pain categories (p<0.001), while SOD activity did not.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative salivary urea concentration shows a significant association with the intensity of postoperative pain after mandibular third molar extraction.
• Salivary urea may serve as a potential biomarker for predicting postsurgical pain, aiding in personalized pain management strategies.