The effectiveness of prophylactic etodolac on postendodontic pain

To determine if prophylactic etodolac would significantly reduce postendodo ntic pain, when compared with ibuprofen or placebo, 36 patients consented t o single blind oral administration of either 400 mg of etodolac, 600 mg of ibuprofen, or a placebo, before conventional one-appointment root canal the rapy. Patient-reported visual analog scale ratings of pain intensity were c onducted upon initial clinical presentation, immediately postoperative, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after initiation of root canal therapy. Results sho wed that prophylactic ibuprofen administration significantly reduced posten dodontic pain at 4 and 8 h after initiation of root canal therapy, when com pared with etodolac and a placebo. Patients with a periapical diagnosis of acute apical periodontitis or with a Phoenix abscess showed a significant i ncreased need for additional medication after completion of root canal ther apy, compared with all other periapical diagnoses.