Role of povidone iodine in periapical surgeries: Hemostyptic and anti-inflammatory?

INTRODUCTION: Periapical surgery needs asepsis, a bloodless field for ensuring success of the treatment. Efficacy of Povidone Iodine (PVI) in the elimination of pathogen causing periapical lesions is well established. PVI is also widely used as a disinfectant, sclerosing agent, styptic as well as an anti-odematous agent. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective pilot study done on 20 males between 20-40 years age group with periapical lesions in single rooted maxillary anterior tooth of 1-2 cm in diameter. The bleeding time, clotting time, bleeding time at the apex, drugs used and visual analogue scale of oedema on postoperative days were obtained. Descriptive statistics, paired t test and independent t-test were used. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Results show a statistically significant reduction in the time required to achieve a bloodless field and a marked decrease in oedema in the first and second postoperative days resulting in lesser consumption of NSAIDs. In conclusion, the effect of PVI in periapical surgery seems to reduce the bleeding time at apex, total dose of NSAIDs used, oedema on first two postoperative days with high statistical significance. Hence the routine use of saline in periapical surgeries may be effectively substituted with PVI. The finding of this pilot study has to be evaluated using wider samples for effective clinical translations.