Frequency of post obturation pain by using ibuprofen and ibuprofen/dexamethasone infiltration in single visit root canal treatment cases

Background: Pain after root canal treatment is a challenging problem for the operative dentists over the last few years. The development of pain is dependent on the intensity of tissue damage. Inflammation is characterized by a series of vascular events in response to tissue injury. The release of mediators is responsible for much of the pain. The rationale of this study is to use NSAIDs alone or in combination with dexamethasone to reduce post treatment swelling and pain following endodontic therapy. The objective of the study was to compare the frequency of post obturation pain by using ibuprofen or ibuprofen/ dexamethasone infiltration in single visit endodontic cases.Methods: This study was carried out in the Operative Dentistry, Department (AFID), Rawalpindi, Pakistan from December 2015 to May 2016 after approval from the Institutional Ethical Review Board. After an informed consent, 128 patients fulfilling inclusion criteria were divided in to two equal groups. In Group A, after root canal treatment, an additional single shot local infiltration of 0.5 mg dexamethasone was given in periapical area. Both the patient groups were prescribed ibuprofen 400 mg three times a day. Patient’s pain response was recorded after 24 hours of treatment, using visual analogue scale. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17.Results: After 24 hours, 6 (9.4%) patients showed the pain in group A while 16 (25.0%) patients complained of pain in group B. Conclusions: The results of this study showed, group A showed less postoperative pain as compared to group B where only ibuprofen was given.