A comparison of paracetamol and diflunisal for pain control following 3rd molar surgery

A double-blind randomised cross-over study to compare 2 regimes of paracetamol and diflunisal for postoperative pain relief following 3rd molar surgery was designed. 35 patients received one of the regimes at one visit and the alternative at the other visit. Both drugs, namely a single dose of 500 mg of diflunisal given preoperatively or 2 doses of 1000 mg of paracetamol, given preoperatively and 4 h postoperatively, produced adequate pain relief, without the need for supplementary analgesics during the 10-h test period. The differences in the mean overall pain scores in the 2 regimes were not statistically significant.