Abstract
A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to answer the clinical question “Does the piezoelectric surgical technique produce fewer postoperative sequelae after lower third molar surgery than conventional rotary instruments?” A systematic and electronic search of several databases with specific key words, a reference search, and a manual search were performed from respective dates of inception through November 2014. The inclusion criteria were clinical human studies, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), controlled clinical trials (CCTs), and retrospective studies, with the aim of comparing the piezoelectric surgical osteotomy technique to the standard rotary instrument technique in lower third molar surgery. Postoperative sequelae (oedema, trismus, and pain), the total number of analgesics taken, and the duration of surgery were analyzed. A total of nine articles were included, six RCTs …