Hydrogen Water Speeds Healing After Wisdom Tooth Surgery
Hydrogen water versus normal saline for post-surgical irrigation: A study on healing and complication rates after third molar extraction
Research hubs: Immune System
- Evidence type
- Controlled trial (non-randomized) · Human study
- Authors
- , Harshini Devi, S. P. Indra Kumar, , Narendar Ramesh, , S.U Arrvinthan, S.U Arrvinthan, R. S. Asok Kumar, , Sarmatha Selvaraj,
- Journal
- Bioinformation
- Year
- 2025
- PMID
- 41657606
- Study Type
- Human
- Participants
- 30
- Delivery
- Water (Electrolysis)
- Dose
- hydrogen water as surgical irrigant
- Duration
- 1 weeks
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- India
TL;DR
Hydrogen water used as a surgical irrigant reduced pain, swelling, trismus, and dry socket incidence compared to saline after third molar removal.
Key Finding
Patients whose surgical sites were rinsed with hydrogen water experienced significantly greater reductions in pain, swelling, and jaw stiffness, and had fewer cases of dry socket compared to those rinsed with normal saline.
Summary
This study compared two liquids used to rinse surgical sites during wisdom tooth removal: hydrogen water (water infused with hydrogen gas) and normal saline (salt water). Thirty patients were divided into two groups, and researchers tracked their pain, swelling, jaw stiffness, and complications for a week after surgery. Patients who received hydrogen water rinses showed faster improvement in pain, swelling, and jaw stiffness, and fewer cases of dry socket (a painful complication) compared to those who received normal saline.
Practical Takeaway
This small human study suggests hydrogen water may help reduce complications after wisdom tooth extraction, though the sample size of 30 patients is modest and the study duration was short. More research with larger groups and longer follow-up would be needed to confirm whether hydrogen water offers meaningful clinical benefits for oral surgery patients.
Abstract (excerpt)
Oral surgery involving impacted mandibular third molars is a common procedure. However, it results in postoperative complaints such as pain, swelling, trismus and dry socket. Therefore, it is of interest to compare hydrogen water and normal saline as surgical irrigants in patients undergoing third…