Analgesic Prescription Pattern in Endodontic Treatments by General Dental Practitioners of Qom City, 2015, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Post-dental treatment pain is one of the main challenges of dentists. This issue is especially more important in endodontic treatments. This research aimed to determine analgesic prescription pattern by general dental practitioners of Qom city before, during, and after endodontic treatments. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, analgesic prescription pattern by all general dental practitioners of Qom city, was investigated in 2015. The research tool was a questionnaire consisting of demographic information and questions related to pain management in three phases of before the start, during, and after the end of endodontic treatment. Data were analyzed using chi-square test. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The most commonly prescribed medicines were novafen, dexamethasone, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid, and codeine, respectively. Only 0.7% of dentists always and 89.3% sometimes prescribed analgesics before the start of the treatment as prophylaxis; 89.3% of the dentists only sometimes used intracanal drugs during treatment sessions. There was a significant relationship between working years and prescription of novafen and dexamethasone. Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that teaching clinical pharmacology courses for dental students during the academic period and post-graduation information update, particularly in regard to premedication and use of intracanal drugs, seem to be necessary.

Keywords

• pain management
• tooth preparation
• root canal treatment
• dentists.