Purpose: Postoperative instructions that are properly delivered can decrease postextraction side effects, such as stress, anxiety, and pain, in patients undergoing dental extraction. This study examined the role of the mode of delivering postoperative instructions in decreasing the side effects of dental extraction and increasing patient satisfaction after the procedure.

Materials and methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on a population of 120 patients presenting to the oral and maxillofacial outpatient clinic affiliated with the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Shiraz, Iran) in 2015. The patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups of 40 per group. The first group received only verbal instructions after their surgical procedure. The second group received only written instructions. The third group received verbal and written instructions. Details on the patient's age, gender, and formal education were recorded before the operation using a questionnaire. The second part of the questionnaire was completed by patients 1 week after their tooth extraction and recorded their postoperative pain, bleeding, swelling, and satisfaction. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test, χ² test, and analysis of covariance at a significance level of 95%.

Results: Of the 120 participants, 77 were women and 43 were men; the participants' mean age was 36.45 ± 10.69 years. The results showed that the mode of delivering instructions had a marked relation with pain and patient satisfaction. Pain intensity was significantly higher in the verbal instructions group compared with the written instructions (P = .002) and verbal plus written instructions (P = .000) groups.

Conclusion: The mode of delivering postoperative instructions meaningfully affected pain intensity and general patient satisfaction. Patients who received verbal instructions reported the most intense pain and the least satisfaction, and patients who received verbal and written instructions were the most satisfied.