Necessity of analgesics prescription after tooth extraction

Abstract

Introduction. For patients and surgeons, pain and discomfort associated with dento-alveolar surgery can be a frightening prospect. This study was aimed to check whether prescription of analgesics is necessary or not after simple extraction of the mandibular third molars. Material and methods. Seventy-six dental outpatients undergoing uncomplicated extraction of both mandibular third molars teeth served as subjects. After extraction on the first side, patients received either naproxen sodium 550 mg orally or a placebo. The order of the drugs was reversed during extraction on side two. The postoperative pain was scored with a six-point category rating scala. The obtained data were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U-test. Results. The sum of the pain intensity for hours 2 through 8 was less for the group that received sodium naproxen. For hours 8-24, the sum of the pain intensity was less for the placebo group but this difference was not statistically different. Conclusion. This study shows that uncomplicated tooth extraction did not cause a significant postoperative pain and there was no need to prescribe analgesics for such cases.

Keywords

• analgesics
• tooth extractions
• postoperative pain