Evaluation of the Effect of 0.75% Metronidazole Gel on Complications Afterextraction of Mandibular Molar Teeth

Toothextraction is one of the invasive treatments in dentistry and in some cases it is associated with some complicationssuch as pain, dry socket and inflammation. Given the antibacterial effects of metronidazole, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of 0.75% metronidazole gel on complications after extraction of mandibular third molar teeth.
This clinical trial was conducted on mandibular third molars of 20 male volunteers 20‒30 years of age. After extraction of two similar mandibularthird molar teeth, 0.75% metronidazole gel was placed in the extracted tooth socketon one side andno material was placed in the socket on the other side as control. The severity of pain and swelling were determined with visual analog scale and by determining the change in the distance ofthe angle of the mandible from thedental midline, respectively. Clinical examination was performed to determine the presence or absence of dry socket. Data on pain, swelling and dry socket were analyzed with SPSS (p value ≤0.05).
The severityof painafter tooth extraction exhibited a significant difference at6-and12-hour intervalsbetweenthetwo sides (p value = 0.04 and p value = 0.03). However, at24-and 48-hour intervals after toothextractionthe differences were not significant (p value = 0.09 and p value = 0.06). In relation to swelling, inthe area from the mandibular angle to the midline, no difference was observed between the two sides after 24 hours (p value = 0.05) but there was a significant difference between the two sides after 48hours (p value = 0.05). Thedifferenceindry socket incidence was not significant between the two sides (p value = 0.2).
Application of 0.75 % metronidazole gel can reduce pain and swelling after tooth extraction but it might have no effect on dry socket incidence.