Effect of orally administered magnesium on postoperative pain level and trismus after surgical removal of the lower third molars: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Pain and trismus are the most common postoperative complications following a surgical removal of the lower third molar. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluated the effect of orally administrated magnesium on postoperative pain and trismus after surgical removal of the lower third molars. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on 80 participants who were divided into two groups. Each group took different oral forms of magnesium citrate. Participants in both groups had their two lower molars surgically removed. For one randomly selected third molar, participants received either magnesium citrate tablets or lozenges. For the surgical removal of the lower third molar of the opposite side, the participants received either placebo tablets or lozenges. The data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-ranked test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Spearman rank-order correlation with the level of significance set at p < 0.05. This manuscript was written in accordance with the Consort recommendation. RESULTS: The results show a statistically significant lower pain level at all tested times (24 h, 48 h, and 72 h postoperatively) for participants who used magnesium preparations in lozenges (p = 0.012, p = 0.013, and p ≤ 0.001) as well as in tablet form (p ≤ 0.001) compared to placebo. The results also show a statistically significant greater mouth opening ability at all tested times (24 h, 48 h, and 72 h postoperatively) between magnesium preparations and the placebo (p ≤ 0.001). CONCLUSION: Orally administered magnesium (either lozenges or tablets) before and after a lower third molar surgical removal significantly reduces pain intensity and the degree of trismus in the postoperative period. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Based on the results of the study, oral magnesium could be used in the oral and maxillofacial surgery to reduce postoperative complications after surgical removal of the lower third molars. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered on http:clinicaltrials.gov under protocol no. NCT03398382.