Effect of preoperative ibuprofen in controlling postendodontic pain with and without low-level laser therapy in...

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of low-level laser irradiation and ibuprofen in reducing the onset and severity of postoperative pain following single visit endodontics.

One hundred and twenty patients were recruited for this study. Group A (n = 30) patients were administered 400 mg of ibuprofen orally 1 h before the institution of an endodontic procedure. Group B (n = 30) patients were given irradiation of a low-level laser at 50 Hz for 3 min after the standard endodontic procedure at the periapical region on both buccal and lingual aspect. Group C (n = 30) patients were given preoperative ibuprofen followed with a low-level laser at 50 Hz for 3 min after endodontic treatment. Group D (n = 30) patients were administered no preoperative ibuprofen nor low-level laser irradiation after the endodontic procedure. The patient immediately recorded his/her pain perception on the Heft Parker pain survey after completion of the appointment and at 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 h postoperatively. Inter group analysis was carried out using the analysis of variances with "least significant difference" post hoc test. For intra group analysis, Student's t-test was used. Chi-square test was applied for nonparametric data.

Pain was significantly reduced in all the treatment groups postoperatively. Ibuprofen showed significant pain reduction at 4 h and 8 h period. The combination of low-level laser and ibuprofen showed the best results in terms of postoperative pain reduction.

This study proved that low-level laser therapy can be an effective alternative for conventional use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in controlling postendodontic pain thereby eliminating the adverse effects of such drugs on the patients.