Non-Cochrane · intervention · PM41488340
The effect of Kinesio taping on postoperative complications following mandibular third molar surgery/extraction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Abu-Zaid Ahmed, Aldoseri Yousef Talal, Alenezi Abdulwahab T A, et al. · Frontiers in dental medicine · 2025 · PubMed · doi:10.3389/fdmed.2025.1709498
Findings
Population Patients undergoing mandibular third molar surgery/extraction
9 findings
| Kinesio taping (KT) | No taping, standard care or sham taping | Maximum interincisal opening (trismus) Postoperative day 3 | MD 3.72 [0.72, 6.71] Low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency 6 studies |
| Kinesio taping (KT) | No taping, standard care or sham taping | Postoperative pain (VAS 0-10) Postoperative day 1 | MD -1.25 [-1.72, -0.79] Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias 6 studies |
| Kinesio taping (KT) | No taping, standard care or sham taping | Postoperative facial swelling Postoperative day 7 | MD -0.09 [-0.48, 0.29] GRADE not reported 8 studies |
| Kinesio taping (KT) | No taping, standard care or sham taping | Postoperative facial swelling Postoperative day 2 | MD -2.45 [-3.79, -1.10] Low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency 8 studies |
| Kinesio taping (KT) | No taping, standard care or sham taping | Postoperative pain (VAS 0-10) Postoperative day 3 | MD -0.88 [-1.72, -0.03] Low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency 11 studies |
| Kinesio taping (KT) | No taping, standard care or sham taping | Maximum interincisal opening (trismus) Postoperative day 7 | MD 2.41 [0.17, 4.65] Low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency 9 studies |
| Kinesio taping (KT) | No taping, standard care or sham taping | Postoperative pain (VAS 0-10) Postoperative day 2 | MD 1.21 [-1.76, 4.18] Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias 9 studies |
| Kinesio taping (KT) | No taping, standard care or sham taping | Maximum interincisal opening (trismus) Postoperative day 2 | MD 4.8 [3.15, 6.45] Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias 6 studies |
| Kinesio taping (KT) | No taping, standard care or sham taping | Postoperative pain (VAS 0-10) Postoperative day 7 | MD -1.08 [-1.89, -0.27] Low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency 11 studies |
Included primary studies 16
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abhijith 2025 Outcome of kinesiology taping on postoperative complications after third molar surgery - Randomized controlled trial DOI:10.59671/0a1rq | 2025 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Gözlüklü 2019 Comparison of Different Kinesio Taping Techniques After Third Molar Surgery. PMID:32008990 | 2020 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Heras 2020 Kinesio taping use to reduce pain and edema after third molar extraction surgery: A randomized controlled split-mouth study. PMID:31899111 | 2020 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Jaron 2021 The Impact of Using Kinesio Tape on Non-Infectious Complications after Impacted Mandibular Third Molar Surgery. PMID:33419167 | 2021 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kim 2020 Effects of kinesiology tape after enucleation of mandibular dentigerous cysts. PMID:32364350 | 2020 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Menziletoglu 2020 Comparison of Surgical Drain Placement With Use of Kinesiologic Tape on Postoperative Pain, Swelling, and Trismus in Impacted Mandibular… PMID:32673573 | 2020 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Narayan 2025 The Effect of Kinesio Taping After Impacted Third Molar Surgery: A Randomized Control Trial. PMID:41054479 | 2025 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Patil 2023 Efficacy of Kinesio taping in post operative sequalae after surgical removal of mandibular third molars: a split mouth randomized control… PMID:38049807 | 2023 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Pławecki 2023 Kinesio Taping as an Adjunct Therapy in Postoperative Care after Extraction of Impacted Third Lower Molars-A Randomized Pilot Study. PMID:37048776 | 2023 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Russo 2025 Three-dimensional Morphometric Analysis of the Effectiveness of Kinesio Taping on Postoperative Discomfort Following Mandibular Third… PMID:39730117 | 2025 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Tatli 2020 Effectiveness of kinesio taping on postoperative morbidity after impacted mandibular third molar surgery: a prospective, randomized,… PMID:32667383 | 2020 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Yurttutan 2020 The effect of kinesio taping with the web strip technique on pain, edema, and trismus after impacted mandibular third molar surgery. PMID:32913166 | 2020 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Chiang 2021 Use of Kinesiologic Therapeutic Tape on Pain, Trismus, Swelling and its Influence on Quality of Life after Mandibular Third Molar Surgery DOI:10.7860/jcdr/2020/43848.13719 | 2020 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ristow 2014 Therapeutic elastic tape reduces morbidity after wisdom teeth removal--a clinical trial. PMID:23963616 | 2014 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Teke 2025 The Role of Kinesio Tape Application on Blood Flow and Morbidity After Third Molar Tooth Extraction. PMID:40876806 | 2026 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Tusharbhai 2020 Versatility of Kinesio-Taping in Postoperative Swelling, Pain, and Trismus After Surgical Removal of Impacted Lower Third Molars DOI:10.4103/jofs.jofs_172_20 | 2020 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
| Review | Shared studies | Jaccard |
|---|---|---|
| Effect of Kinesio Taping on pain, swelling and trismus after third molar surgical extraction: systematic review and meta-analysis. (2026) | 12 | 0.67 |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Patients who underwent mandibular third molar extraction (adolescent-adult population) | Patients undergoing mandibular third molar surgery, mostly healthy adults aged 16-64 years (n=721; 366 KT, 355 control) |
| Intervention | Kinesio taping | Kinesio taping, various techniques (n=16) |
| Comparison | Standard care without KT, no taping, or sham/placebo taping | No KT/control without taping (n=16) |
| Outcomes | Postoperative pain (0-10 VAS/NRS; days 1, 2, 3, 7), facial swelling (linear or 3D volumetry; days 2, 7), maximum interincisal opening (days 2, 3, 7) | Pain VAS day 1 (n=6), day 2 (n=9), day 3 (n=11), day 7 (n=11); swelling day 2 (n=8), day 7 (n=8); MIO day 2 (n=6), day 3 (n=6), day 7 (n=9) |
| Study designs | Randomized controlled trials, parallel-group or split-mouth | 16 RCTs (12 parallel, 4 split-mouth); seven countries |
| Timing | Postoperative days 1, 2, 3 and 7 | Follow-up 1 to 7 days |
AMSTAR 2 items
Two independent extractors rated each item. Their ratings are shown side by side because they have not been reconciled yet. The overall rating follows Shea et al. 2017: one critical flaw gives Low, more than one gives Critically Low.
| Item | Extractor A | Extractor B | Agree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Research question includes PICO components | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 2Protocol established before the reviewcritical | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 3Choice of study designs explained | No | No | yes |
| 4Comprehensive literature searchcritical | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 5Study selection in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 6Data extraction in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 7List of excluded studies with reasonscritical | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 8Included studies described in detail | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 9Risk of bias assessed satisfactorilycritical | RCT: Yes | NRSI: N/A · RCT: Yes | no |
| 10Funding of included studies reported | No | No | yes |
| 11Appropriate meta-analysis methodscritical | RCT: Yes | NRSI: N/A · RCT: Yes | no |
| 12Impact of risk of bias on the pooled results | No | No | yes |
| 13Risk of bias accounted for in interpretationcritical | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 14Heterogeneity explained | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 15Publication bias investigatedcritical | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 16Conflicts of interest reported | Yes | Yes | yes |
| Overall | Moderate | Moderate | yes |