Postoperative pain after surgical exposure of palatally impacted canines: closed-eruption versus open-eruption, a prospective randomized study

Objectives. The aim of this prospective randomized clinical study was to compare the duration of surgery and the patient's perception of pain after closed and open surgical exposure of unilateral palatally impacted maxillary canines. Study design. Palatally impacted canines were exposed in 32 subjects. Half of these subjects had closed-eruption exposure, and the other half had open-eruption exposure. The duration of surgery was measured, and the degree of pain was assessed in the first postoperative week. Results. The mean surgical duration for the open-eruption technique was 30.9 +/- 10.1 min compared with 37.7 +/- 8.4 min for the closed-eruption technique. This difference was statistically significant ( P = .006). Postoperative pain in the 2 groups was not significantly different. However, pain regression was faster in the closed-eruption group. Conclusions. The surgical duration was significantly shorter in the open-eruption exposure. Postoperative pain was comparable after open- and closed-eruption surgical exposures.