Functional Medicine Therapy In Reduction Of Post-Surgical Complications After Lower Wisdom Teeth Removal - A Prospective Study

Abstract

Post-operative pain is an area of oral surgery that concerns both patients and practitioners. Adequate management of pain and anxiety in oral surgery is an essential component of any oral surgery service.The link between pain and injury has been described as being variable.9 Pain can be protective as it leads to immediate withdrawal from harmful stimuli, for example withdrawal from hot or sharp objects. Pain can serve as a basis for learning to avoid these stimuli. Pain can also serve to prevent further damage to a person when they are already injured; this is observed in post-operative pain when people will avoid activities that increase their pain. In the case of surgical removal of third molars, this may include avoidance of hard or sharp foods due to the knowledge that they will cause increased pain and damage to the healing surgical site. Post- operative pain is a type of acute pain, which has the potential to become chronic ( Bailey et al., 2022)

Third molar surgey always needs primary intervention as it can lead to various complications and pathologies. Considering other ways for postoperative anesthesia it was infered that submucosal group which showed simple injection technique and direct surgical site administration is more beneficial. It was noticed as a patient comfort method which can be the preferred as the drug of choice over intravenous route of dexamethasone injection (Sreesha et al. 2020 ).The progression of acute pain to chronic pain is an important area of research.Acute pain serves a biological function in preventing further tissue damage, whereas chronic pain continues beyond the natural healing process to become a syndrome and a disease in its own right. Post-operative complications such as pain, swelling, and trismus are commonly seen inflammatory  response following surgical removal of impacted lower wisdom teeth despite all the precautions taken to prevent them. The functional medicine model of care provides an operating system that works to reverse illness, promote health and optimize function by addressing underlying causes, symptoms, and functional imbalances in interconnected biological networks (Bland et al. 2017).

Many studies have been performed aiming to relieve the postoperative discomfort following wisdom tooth impaction surgery (Kim et al. 2009). It is generally understood that the maximal inflammatory response is seen during the initial post-operative days following surgery reaching a peak level 2-3 days after surgery and gradual reduction in about 1-week time. This makes the first post-operative week crucial in terms of the patient’s quality of life being affected by the inflammatory response to surgery. Thus, the 1st week after surgery has a strong effect on patients quality of life, and it is critical to eliminate associated factors affecting the initial phases of wound healing.

Functional Medicine is a personalized, systems-oriented model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease. It is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century. By shifting the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, Functional Medicine addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. Functional Medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, Functional Medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Liposomal Curcumin and Liposomal Vitamin C (Functional Medicine) in reducing the post-surgical complications such as pain, swelling and trismus after lower wisdom teeth removal. This prospective clinical study included 80 patients with impacted mandibular third molars of similar surgical difficulty classification. Patient were prescribed Liposomal Curcumin 125mg in tablet form twice a day after meals for 15 days and Liposomal Vitamin C 2tsp in liquid form half and hour before meals for 15 days post operatively. Post-operative complications of pain, trismus and swelling was evaluated on 1st, 2nd and 7th days.

Statistically significant differences were detected for all the parameters measured (p<0.05) on all the post-operative days evaluated. Using Functional Medicine Therapy was effective in reducing the post-surgical complications of pain, trismus and swelling after lower wisdom teeth removal.

Functional Medicine Approach appears to offer a beneficial effect in managing pain, trismus and swelling during the post-operative period following wisdom tooth removal.