Post-operative pain is a matter of concern for every patient that undergoes mandibular third molar surgery. Dental researchers have used a variety of methods to cure such pain, but there is lack of data supporting the efficacy of steroids in treating postoperative pain after lower third molar surgery.

In recent times, a group of dental researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, split-mouth, controlled trial that focuses on evaluating the efficacy of sublingual injection of dexamethasone (8 mg) in treating postoperative pain occurring after mandibular third molar surgery.

A total of 48 healthy patients were enrolled who need surgical removal of two mandibular third molars with similar bilateral positions. An experienced surgeon performed all the operations. The patients were categorized into a study group (8 mg dexamethasone injection) and a placebo group (normal saline injection). After local anesthesia and 30 min before the first incision, interventions were injected into the sublingual space immediately. After every operation, a wash period of 3 to 4 weeks was introduced. Pain assessment was done by recording the consumption of analgesic tablets in a day as well as by registering the patients' responses to the visual analog scale (VAS) on the first, second, and third days after surgery. Results indicated that study group differed significantly from the placebo group in terms of VAS score and analgesic consumption.

The study described above proposes that dexamethasone (8 mg), injected sublingually, significantly eases post-operative pain after surgical removal of the mandibular third molar.