Cryotherapy application in third molar surgery: a review of the literature

AbstractAimTo review the literature on the different methods and application regimes of cryotherapy, and investigate its effects with respect to the removal of third molars.Materials and methodsA search was conducted through PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane electronic databases. The publications included for the review were those that investigated any form of cryotherapy and the removal of third molars. Additionally a manual search of the reference lists of included articles were reviewed.ResultsThe literature search resulted in 111 articles, of which 10 met the inclusion criteria. Outcomes of interest included body temperature, efficacy of pain control, facial swelling, neurological scores, occurrence of inflammation, pain patient, satisfaction, quality of life, trismus and wound healing.ConclusionThe review has found that there have been a variety of cooling methods investigated, with the effects assessed postoperatively. Cryotherapy in the form of continuous cooling was shown to have significant effects on postoperative mouth opening, pain, swelling and improved patient satisfaction over conventional cooling.