Pain after mandibular ramus block harvesting and lateral ridge augmentation with and without involvement of platelet-rich fibrin: a randomized controlled trial

The purpose of this study was to evaluate pain after mandibular ramus block harvesting and lateral ridge augmentation. Autogenous bone block grafts were covered with platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) membranes (test group) or deproteinized bovine bone and a resorbable collagen membrane (control group). This study included 27 partially edentulous patients (test = 14, control = 13) with an indication for bone block augmentation before staged implant placement. Postoperative methylprednisolone (32 mg, day 1) and analgesics comprising ibuprofen (400 mg, four times daily) and paracetamol (1 g, four times daily) were prescribed for 1 week. Pain was recorded by the patient on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS), hourly on the day of surgery and daily for the following 7 days. The average (mean ± standard deviation) maximum pain score over the whole observation period was similar in the test (13.6 ± 13.5) and control (21.0 ± 19.9) groups (P = 0.17). In conclusion, harvesting of a mandibular ramus block and lateral ridge augmentation, in conjunction with the pharmacological protocol described, is characterized by low postoperative pain. Adding PRF membranes to the surgical site generally resulted in slightly lower pain perception, although a statistically significant difference between the test and control groups was only identified on day 1 postoperative.