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Aim: The aim of this study was to assess quality of life (QoL) and degree of satisfaction among outpatients subjected to surgical extraction of all four third molars under conscious sedation. A second objective was to describe
the evolution of self-reported pain measured in a visual analogue scale (VAS) in the 7 days after extraction.
Study design: Fifty patients received a questionnaire assessing social isolation, working isolation, eating and
speaking ability, diet modifications, sleep impairment, changes in physical appearance, discomfort at suture removal and overall satisfaction at days 4 and 7 after surgery. Pain was recorded by patients on a 100-mm pain
visual analogue scale (VAS) every day after extraction until day 7.
Results: Thirty-nine patients fulfilled correctly the questionnaire. Postoperative pain values suffered small fluctuations until day 5 (range: 23 to 33 mm in a 100-mm VAS), when dicreased significantly. A positive association
was observed between difficult ranked surgeries and higher postoperative pain levels. The average number of days
for which the patient stopped working was 4.9.
Conclusion: The removal of all third molars in a single appointment causes an important deterioration of the patient's QoL during the first postoperative week, especially due to local pain and eating discomfort.
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Sancho Puchades, Manuel ; Valmaseda Castellón, E. ; Berini Aytés, Leonardo ; Gay Escoda, Cosme. Quality of life following third molar removal under conscious sedation. En: Medicina oral, patología oral y cirugía bucal. Ed inglesa, 2012, Vol. 17, No. 6: 994-999 |