BACKGROUND
Many approaches have been investigated for pain relief after root canal procedure. In this study we compare the effectiveness of premedication drugs, given single dose Piroxicam and Prednisolone separately to evaluate post endodontic pain at different time intervals (24, 48, 72 and 96 hours) using visual analog scale (VAS) after single visit root canal treatment.
METHODS
Total number of 120 patients identified with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis were made part of this research after signing informed consent. The pain intensity levels were marked through the use of VAS scale before the commencement of treatment. The participants were randomly placed in three groups (n=40) Group I: Control, Group II: Piroxicam (20 mg) and Group III: Prednisolone (20 mg). The drugs were administered thirty minutes before endodontic procedure was initiated. Root canal procedure was carried out followed by placement of provisional restoration on a single appointment. The patients were advised to continue marking their pain intensity levels after 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours using VAS. All patients were called for follow up after 4 days for clinical evaluation and placement of permanent restoration. The effectiveness of each drug over different time interval was studied employing repeated measure ANOVA. The significance level was considered p-value <0.05.
RESULTS
Administration of pre-medication drug therapy with Piroxicam and Prednisolone was able to successfully alleviate post-endodontic pain. However, the long term effectiveness (96 hours) of both drugs to reduce post-endodontic pain was observed to be statistically insignificant.
CONCLUSION
Pre-medication with either single dose Piroxicam and Prednisolone was found to be effective against post-endodontic pain, in patients presenting with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: This single blinded, randomized clinical trial [registration no. NCT04124822(11/10/2019)] was performed in Operative Dentistry department of Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan Institute of Oral Health Sciences.