Clinical evaluation of maintenance of apical patency in postendodontic pain: An in vivo study

Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of postoperative pain in 80 endodontically treated teeth, with and without apical patency, in relation to some diagnostic factors (vitality, presence of preoperative pain, group of treated teeth). Materials and Methodology: Apical patency was maintained during shaping procedures with a #10 K-file in one group (n = 40) and not in the other (n = 40). Root canal treatment was done in single visit. Pain was recorded 1st day, 2nd day and 7th day using VAS scale. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between patency and non patency groups regarding incidence and degree of postoperative pain. Only preoperative pain has significant effect on postoperative pain. Conclusion: Our study concluded that maintenance of apical patency did not increase the incidence of postoperative pain when considering all variables together.