[Microwave therapy in outpatient oral surgery].

The biological action of microwave therapy is due to the conversion of high-frequency electromagnetic waves to heat that is produced directly in the tissue at the radiation area. It is a deep heating procedure of limited range with low-level exposure to the subcutaneous fatty tissue; it may be used in subacute and chronic infectious inflammatory conditions, after surgical interventions, in affections of the salivary glands and of the maxillary sinuses, and also in temporo-mandibular joint disorders and facial neuralgias. As a rule, irradiation by microwaves is only a supporting treatment. Its advantages are above all: easy application; great economy; versatility; uniform, locally limited distribution of heat with low-level exposure to the fatty tissue; virtual safety.