Abstract

The most common oral and maxillofacial procedure is surgical removal of impacted third molars, which often results in post-operative inflammatory changes. Many pharmacological and nonpharmacological measures have been tried, to help resolve the same with minimum side effects to patients. Non pharmacological measures are surgery, cryotherapy amongst many others. Pharmacological measures include enzymatic or non-enzymatic preparations like antibiotics, steroids and various analgesic drugs. One such newer preparation is that of bromelain, which is an extract from the pineapple stem and plant. It is rich in thiol endopeptidases, cellulose, glycoproteins and carbohydrates. Bromelain has been very commonly used in a lot of medical interventions like sinusitis, thrombophlebitis, surgical trauma, pyelonephritis, angina pectoris, bronchitis as well as for enhancing absorption. It’s direct effect on bradykinin receptors has been affiliated to its analgesic property though it can also be due to its anti-inflammatory action. Research has shown that swelling, time required for healing, pain, bruising is reduced due to its property to digest fibrin; enabling reduced oedema post-operatively. Various dosages of the drug have been used to verify its efficacy but there is no consensus on exact optimum dosages. Hence in this study we aim at determining optimum dosage for bromelain providing an ideal maximum effect to reduce inflammation after removal of impacted third molars.