Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026
Use of the Operant Orofacial Pain Assessment Device OPAD to Measure Changes in Nociceptive Behavior
Published on: June 10, 2013
Comparison of postoperative pain after root canal treatment using reciprocating instruments based on operator's
Marc García-Font1, Fernando Duran-Sindreu1, Carmen Calvo2
1Department of Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Background:
The aim of the present study was to compare clinically the incidence of postoperative pain after endodontic treatment using the Reciproc System, taking into account the operator's experience.
Material And Methods:
One hundred patients scheduled for routine endodontic treatment were enrolled in this study. Endodontic treatment was carried out in a single visit by undergraduate and postgraduate students. The chemomechanical preparation of root canals was performed with Reciproc instruments. Pretreatment and postoperative pain was recorded using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Postoperative pain and the need for analgesic consumption were assessed at 4, 8, 16, 24, 48 and 72 hours post-treatment. The data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U and Chi-Square test, and the significance was set at P<0.05.
Results:
The mean value of pain after root canal treatment was 1.13±1.94 and 1.91±2.07 on a VAS between 0 and 10 in treatments performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students, respectively. There was a significant difference in the incidence of postoperative pain between the two groups (P<0.05).
Conclusions:
The prevalence of postoperative pain was high in the treatments performed by postgraduate students in comparison with undergraduate students. This suggests that operator experience has an influence on the prevalence of postoperative pain after root canal treatment. Key words:Post-endodontic pain, root canal treatment, reciprocating systems, Expert operators Inexperienced operators.
