Effect of premedication with Ibuprofen on pain perception in patients during root canal procedure with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis and apical periodontitis: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Aim: To assess the pain perception with premedication of ibuprofen and placebo in patients during root canal procedure with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis and apical periodontitis. Methods: Randomized comparative double-blinded clinical trial. Sixty mandibular first and second molars with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis and apical periodontitis were randomly allocated into two groups, Group 1 – Ibuprofen (400 mg) and Group 2 – Placebo. The premedication was administered 45 min before the endodontic treatment. Subjects were asked to mark the highest pain level they experienced before the commencement of endodontic therapy, on access opening and completion of instrumentation on a Visual Analog Scale. The Mann–Whitney U-test was used to compare the mean age. The Chi-square test was used to compare the gender distributions and additional LA during the procedure between two groups. The comparison of mean visual analog (VA) scores for pain between different time intervals in each group was done using Friedman’s test followed by Wilcoxon signed-rank Post hoc test. Results: The VA scores significantly reduced in Group 1 compared to Group 2 at P < 0.001. Conclusion: Premedicated with Ibuprofen significantly reduced intraoperative pain in mandibular 1 st and 2 nd molars with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis and apical periodontitis.