Objective The objectives of this study was to evaluate subjectively the analgesic efficacy of Oral Diclofenac Sodium against Diclofenac Sodium Transdermal patch in the management of postoperative pain following surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars. Materials and methods Twenty healthy subjects belonging to both the sexes in the age group of 18-40 years with bilateral mesioangular impactions of mandibular third molar teeth underwent surgical removal under local anaesthesia by administering an inferior alveolar nerve block on two different occasions with a minimum interval of 1 week in-between the procedures. The postoperative pain was recorded on visual analog scale, a verbal rating scale, a pain relief scale and a pain intensity scale. Readings were taken at 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours postoperatively, taking the time at which the surgery was completed as a reference. On the second and third days, the repeat medication was administered at that reference time and recordings taken at the same intervals for a total of 3 days. Patients received the study medication i.e. Diclofenac Sodium 100mg once a day for 3 days after performing surgery on one side and the same patients were given Diclofenac Sodium Transdermal Patch 100mg once a day for 3 days after performing surgery on the contralateral side. Results and observations Both the statistical analysis and clinical observation showed that on the first postoperative day diclofenac sodium administered orally has slightly more significant efficacy when compared to the drug administered transdermally. However, on the second and third postoperative days there was no statistical or clinical difference in the pain control by either route of administration. Conclusions The study concludes that transdermal diclofenac sodium can be used as an alternative form of pain control following removal of impacted mandibular third molars, however considering that the analgesic potency might be lesser in the immediate postoperative period, it might be prudent to use oral diclofenac sodium for immediate postoperative pain relief, following which transdermal route can be used for pain control.

No abstract

Obstructive salivary pathologies most commonly manifest as salivary stones (sialoliths), mucous plugs and sometimes due to narrowing of the duct (stricture/stenosis). Saliva produced by salivary glands flows into oral cavity by means of ducts. Blockage of these ducts due to the reasons mentioned above leads to sialadenitis (inflammation).Sialendoscopy is a minimally invasive technique to manage salivary duct pathologies, including sialolithiasis, sialadenitis & strictures. It is fast becoming the investigating procedure of choice for such conditions.In the last 25 years, Sialoendoscopy has gradually seen a rise in popularity for diagnostic and therapeutic means of dealing with obstructive salivary gland pathologies.

Submandibular sialadenitis is a common ailment in otorhinolaryngological and oral surgical practice. Some of the common causes of sialadenitis include sialolithiasis, inspissated mucous plugs, strictures and anatomical ductal variations. Very rarely do foreign bodies cause obstructive sialadenitis. Fish bone as a foreign body is routinely seen, with the most common locations being oropharynx, hypopharynx, oseophagus and tongue. We report an intriguing case of a 40 year old male with sialadenitis of the right submandibular gland due to an intra-ductal fish bone.