Does Vitamin C Improve Postoperative Healing

This randomized, split-mouth clinical trial aimed to investigate the effect of oral vitamin C supplementation on postoperative recovery following the surgical extraction of impacted mandibular third molars. A total of 56 healthy patients requiring bilateral lower third molar extractions were included in the study. Each patient underwent two separate surgeries on both sides, with each side randomly assigned to receive either 1000 mg of oral vitamin C or a placebo. Vitamin C supplementation started one day prior to surgery and continued for seven days postoperatively. The primary outcomes of the study were facial swelling, pain, trismus, and early soft tissue healing. Facial swelling was assessed using three linear measurements between specific anatomical landmarks: tragus-pogonion, tragus-labial commissure, and lateral canthus of the eye-angulus mandible. Trismus was measured based on maximum interincisal distance. Pain was evaluated using the visual analog scale (VAS) on postoperative days 1, 2, and 7. Edema, trismus, and early wound healing were assessed on postoperative days 2 and 7. Early wound healing was scored using the Landry healing index. Analgesic consumption was also recorded during the postoperative period. This study was designed to evaluate whether vitamin C supplementation could reduce postoperative edema, pain, and trismus, and improve early soft tissue healing in comparison to placebo in the context of oral surgical procedures. The findings may provide evidence to support the use of vitamin C as an adjunctive therapy in oral surgery.