© 2017 Babcock University Medical Journal 1. INTRODUCTION Surgical removal of mandibular third molar is one of the most common surgical events in 1 medical practice . This is why, in spite of the diversified demands of practice, many dental surgeons will still need to face the problem of 1,2 removal of impacted mandibular third molars. This invariably involves trauma to hard and soft tissues. The greater the tissue injury is, the more extensive the amount of tissue response and 2 inflammation in the surgical area. This inflammation is regarded as a protective reaction of vascular connective tissue to damaging stimuli and it is associated with vasodilatation, increased vascular permeability, recruitment of inflammatory cells and the release of 3 inflammatory mediators from these cells. The most important of these mediators are 2,3 the prostaglandins and the leukotrienes. Ironically, this protective mechanism may bring discomfort to patients and affect their quality of life as a result of resultant pain, swelling and 4 trismus, otherwise called post-operative 5,6 complications. The factors affecting these postoperative complications have been grouped into patients' factors, tooth related factors and 6 operative factors. Pain is the most commonly encountered post-operative complication following mandibular rd 5 3 molar surgery. Pain sensation is subjective and can be influenced by different factors such as 4 patient age, sex, anxiety and surgical difficulty. In this sense, longer operations are typically associated with more pain, and the pain furthermore increases with the difficulty of the 7 operation. Similarly, swelling may be particularly significant when the duration of surgery is 8 prolonged and manipulation of tissues is extensive. Trismus is defined as a limitation in maximum oral aperture, and is caused by the swelling and pain 7 attributed to surgical trauma. It has been described to be more intense on the first day after surgery followed by gradual improvement and resolution ABSTRACT Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of administration of both preoperative and postoperative dexamethasone with that of only preoperative dexamethasone, and with that of a no dexamethasone (control) on reduction of pain, rd trismus and swelling following lower impacted 3 molar surgery. Methods: A prospective randomized controlled double blinded study at the dental clinic of Babcock University Teaching Hospital on 84 subjects that were divided into 3 groups. Group A had both preoperative and postoperative dexamethasone, while group B had only preoperative dexamethasone and group C was a 'no dexamethasone' group. Differential mean facial swelling, mouth opening and pain scores were compared within the three groups. Results: The pattern of postoperative swelling, pain and trismus showed a general decrease from day 1 to 7, with group A showing the highest rate of decrease. On postoperative day 1, there was a difference between the swelling of groups A and C (p =0.01) and groups B and C (p = 0.02) and also between the pain scores of group A and group C (p = 0.01). On postoperative day 3, there was only a difference between the swelling of groups A and C (p = 0.02), but not in pain and trismus and no difference was seen in all the measured variables on postoperative day 7. Conclusion: Administration of a combination of both preoperative and postoperative dexamethasone to reduce the postoperative inflammatory sequelae that follows lower third molar surgery gave better results than administration of only a single preoperative dose. Comparison Of The Effect Of Two-dose And One-dose Dexamethasone On Post-inflammatory Complications In Third Molar Surgery 1,2* 1,2 2 3 4 4 4 Adetayo AM , Oyedele TA , Ajimoko AO , Adetayo MO , Adeyemi MO, Somoye MS , Gbotolorun MO . 1 Department of Surgery, Benjamin Carson Snr School of medicine, Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State. 2 Dental Unit, Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State 3 Department of Biological Sciences, Babcock University High School, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State 4 Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-araba, Surulere, Lagos State *Corresponding author: Dr A dekunle Adetayo, Dental Unit, Department of Surgery, Babacock University, Ilishan-Remo, Nigeria. E-mail: adekunleadetayo@yahoo.com