Contribution to the study of antimicrobial prophylaxis in third molar extraction surgeries

ABSTRACT The use of antibiotic prophylaxis in the extraction of third molars is extremely controversial, raising several discussions about the most appropriate clinical protocol to avoid postoperative complications. To review the literature on the subject, describing the evidence for and against antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent surgical site infections in third molar extractions, besides establishing a prophylactic protocol and dosage regimen. A literature review was carried out analyzing scientific evidence from articles on the PubMed and Scielo platforms by searching for the descriptors “antibiotic therapy and infection in third molar extraction surgery”, “antimicrobial prophylaxis and infective endocarditis”, “antibiotic prophylaxis and adverse effects”, “antibiotic therapy in dentistry”, “surgical time and incidence of infections in extractions”, including original articles and double or triple blind randomized clinical trials, in Portuguese and English, published between 1980 and 2021, separated in chronological order. There is no consensus in the literature on the indication of antimicrobial prophylaxis, but factors as surgeon’s skill, time elapsed during the procedure and the patient’s general health status directly affect the incidence and severity of infections. Among all the literature analyzed for this study, it is possible to infer that the topic is still extremely questionable and, therefore, it is essential to conduct new experimental studies to obtain more conclusive data on the subject.