Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Impacted and semi-impacted third molar surgery can lead to considerable distress and discomfort in patients. AIMS: The present study aimed to assess the changes in salivary levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) after third molar surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 210 patients scheduled for third molar surgery were selected. Unstimulated whole saliva samples were collected from patients preoperatively and one week after the surgery, via the 'spitting method'. The collected samples were immediately centrifuged and the supernatants were stored at -20°C until testing. The levels of MDA and TAC were measured with a spectrophotometer. RESULTS: The results were presented as mean ± standard deviation and paired t-test was used to statistically analyse the changes in pre-operative and post-operative values of MDA and TAC. A decrease of mean salivary TAC (P = 0.031) and an increase of mean salivary MDA (P = 0.034) were detected postoperatively. DISCUSSION: Following third molar surgery, the increase of mean salivary MDA and the decrease of mean salivary TAC were detected; however, these changes were not statistically significant.