Ibuprofen or Dexamethasone after implant surgery?

Last Updated: Jan 24, 2017

Postoperative pain is a potential adverse side effect of oral surgeries. There are different treatments that are suggested in order to minimize or prevent this pain. A recent study compared the efficacy of preemptive ibuprofen and dexamethasone protocols for pain prevention or control after surgical implant placement.
The conclusion:

Ibuprofen and dexamethasone significantly reduced pain (Kruskal-Wallis; P

What do you use in your practice to minimize or prevent pain following implant surgery?

Read the Full Abstract Here

1. Int J Implant Dent. 2016 Dec;2 Comparison Between Dexamethasone and Ibuprofen for Postoperative Pain Prevention and Control After Surgical Implant PlacementBahammam MA, et al.

7 Comments on Ibuprofen or Dexamethasone after implant surgery?

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DrT

01/24/2017

If it were me I would much prefer taking an ANSAID over a steroid given that they were shown to have similar beneficial effects. I always like to use as a guide when deciding on doing anything for my patients asking myself what would I prefer to be done on myself.

Osurg

01/24/2017

In my practice if the case involves a fair amount of surgical trauma I use both. Decadron as one dose IV and an NSAID as post operative analgesic. Some people inject the Decadron into the tissue. Medr dose pack is also an option for situations were longer term steroid coverage is warranted.

Osurg

01/24/2017

Should say Medrol ( sorry)

Val Sharma

01/26/2017

In my practice, the standard protocol is for Ibuprofen and paracetamol. 1 dose of each 30 - 60 mins pre-op and then continued post-op for approx 48hrs. Occasionally I give gastro protectant (PPI) if they're using anti-inflammatory for too long. Only in prolonged cases, multisite surgery (oral cavity and hip) and patients undergoing general anaesthesia would I advocate IV dexamethasone.

CRS

01/27/2017

Decadron 12 mg IV will prevent swelling, less pain. Narcotics work well for bone pain. I don't use NSAIDs post op due to increased bleeding. IV acetaminophen is great for opioids addicted patients. These protocols seem to undermedicate post op swelling and pain. Medrol dose pack is good for the three day rebound. Old orthognathic protocol.

Sb oms

01/30/2017

I use ibuprofen with almost every patient treat, and it works great. Very few contraindications. Never had bleeding issues due to nsaid- not quite sure what you mean CRS- Give it to my implant, orthognathic, and oral surg pts. IV acetaminophen costs 312$ a dose btw, toradol IV 35 $ a dose. I only know this because the hospital I attend forwards this info to me.

Dr. Steven Kollander

02/01/2017

Dexamethasone 4.0mg: Two tabs morning of surgery, two tabs next morning and one tab the next morning. That is the protocol. NSAIDs certainly an adjunct for post-op discomfort.

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