Question & Answer

Click image to download

While one study suggests that bromelain can reduce pain and swelling and increase motion in the jaw after wisdom tooth removal; other studies have not found a difference in swelling and jaw motion nor in pain in the early stage of recovery.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) notes that there “…are conflicting research results on whether bromelain is helpful for pain, swelling, and jaw range of motion after wisdom tooth surgery.”
Although promising, studies that have been done tended to be few and of low quality, making it difficult to be certain if bromelain can help in recovery after wisdom tooth removal. We need more research, and better quality research before we can be certain.

Opinions alone are not a reliable basis for claims about the effects of treatments.
Just because a treatment claim is made by someone in authority, you cannot be sure that it is trustworthy unless it is clearly based on a summary of fair comparisons.
Always ask yourself whether the possible advantages of treatment outweigh the disadvantages of the treatment.

Lead Researcher: Dr. Petek Eylül Taneri, Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Galway
Reviewed by: Prof. Declan Devane, School of Nursing and Midwifery, HRB-Trials Methodology Research Network, Evidence Synthesis Ireland & Cochrane Ireland, University of Galway
Topic advisor: Dr. Frank Moriarty, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and visiting research fellow at The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).
Public and Patient advisor: Deirdre Mac Loughlin, Public and Patient Involvement in research (PPI) advisor, PPI Ignite, University of Galway.
Journalist Advisor: Dr Claire O’Connell, PhD in cell biology, Masters in Science Communication. Contributor to The Irish Times, writing about health, science and innovation.

Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors have no financial or other conflicts of interest for this health claim summary.