The group in which only silk sutures will be used for wound closure after third molar extraction.

The group in which only PTFE sutures will be used for wound closure after third molar extraction.

The group in which cold atmospheric plasma is applied to silk sutures before wound closure with silk sutures after third molar extraction.

The group in which cold atmospheric plasma is applied to PTFE sutures before wound closure with PTFE sutures after third molar extraction.

The group in which cold atmospheric argon plasma is applied to silk sutures before wound closure with silk sutures after third molar extraction.

After third molar extraction, the surgical wound will be closed using silk sutures without plasma application.

The patients' pain levels were evaluated using a 10-unit Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The patients were given a form on which they could mark the pain they felt as a score between 0 (no pain) and 10 (the most severe pain) at the following time points: 20 minutes before local anesthesia administration, and on postoperative day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, and day 7. After completing these forms, the patients returned them at the end of the 7th day.

Facial swelling was assessed by performing three-dimensional (3D) facial scans at three different time points: prior to surgery (T0), on the second postoperative day (T1), and on the seventh postoperative day (T2). All scans were obtained in the same clinical room under consistent lighting conditions. For image acquisition, the Qlone appli-cation (EyeCue Vision Technologies LTD.), compatible with iOS devices (iPhone 14, Apple Inc., CA, USA), was utilized, offering a guided face-scanning process. Upon completion, each scan was converted into an STL file, which was subsequently transferred to the 3D Slicer software. The paired scans were then superimposed, and volumetric differences were calculated.

Interincisal mouth opening was measured both before and after surgery using a standard monoblock caliper. During the assessment, participants were seated upright with the orbitomeatal plane aligned parallel to the ground. The maximum unassisted midline in-terincisal distance was recorded in millimeters (mm) at three time points.

Quality of life was evaluated before and after surgery using the OHIP-14 questionnaire. Postoperative assessments were carried out on the preoperatively, 2nd, and 7th days following the procedure. Each question was rated on a 4-point scale: 1 = "never," 2 = "sometimes," 3 = "fairly often," and 4 = "very often." The possible total score ranged from 0 to 56, with higher scores reflecting greater impairment in quality of life.