Abstract
Introduction:
Trauma to either soft and hard tissues are usually associated with surgical dental extraction and deep cavity preparations, often accompanied with pain and swelling. The aim of this review was to review clinical trials investigating the effectiveness of oral analgesics in control of dental pain.
Materials and methods: A web search was conducted in MEDLINE database and the resultant studies were screened for eligibility criteria including clinical trials conducted among human subjects in the last 5 year. The trials should aim to assess the effect of the analgesics in the control of postoperative dental pain. The full articles were retrieved for the eligible studies and the secondary screening was conducted to exclude the ineligible studies based on the full text reading.
Results: Our search identified eligible 49 articles underwent full-text review and 8 met our inclusion criteria enrolling 2406 patients. Codeine 60mg added to a paracetamol 1000 mg/ibuprofen 400 mg regimen does not improve analgesia following third molar surgery. Tramadol/Acetaminophen decreased pain over time from time point 6 hours. Pain intensity was significantly lower over 24 hours with ER naproxen sodium vs. placebo. Etoricoxib was more effective than Paracetamol/Acetaminophen and the placebo.
Conclusion: Because of the absence of strong evidence, no clear evidence whether the foundational non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) are more compelling than paracetamol at reducing pain related with dental treatment.