Effects of pre-emptive analgesia on efficacy of buccal infiltration during pulpotomy of mandibular primary molars: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effect of preoperative administration of ibuprofen and acetaminophen on the efficacy of buccal infiltration for pulp therapy in mandibular primary molars.

Materials and methods: A randomized controlled trial with an ID no. NCT03423329 in Clinical-Trials.gov was conducted in the outpatient clinic of Paediatric Dentistry Department at Ain Shams University. The study was designed with two test arms where either ibuprofen or acetaminophen was administered to children whereas in the control arm a multivitamin placebo was used. Children's self-reported pain responses were recorded using Wong–Baker FACES pain scale. For statistical analysis, Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test was used to compare between the three groups whereas Friedman’s test was used to study changes within each group.

Results: In a sample of 60 children, a significant decrease in the mean pain rating scores was detected in all groups where success rates ranged from 40% with ibuprofen to 55% and 65% with acetaminophen and placebo, respectively. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the three groups regarding severity of pain during access cavity preparation.

Conclusions: Both analgesics have no clinical advantage over the placebo in increasing the efficacy of buccal infiltration during pulp therapy in mandibular primary molars.