Managing post endodontic treatment pain by eliminating occlusal contacts

Data sources Forty-four adult patients (32 female : 12 males) with irreversible pulpitis with periapical periodontitis on a mandibular posterior tooth, who were undergoing a two-visit endodontic treatment protocol, were randomly divided into two groups. The intervention group (n = 22) had occlusal surface reduced on the treated tooth and a control group (n = 22) did not.Data The primary outcome was pain intensity after endodontic treament, which was measured on a visual-analogue-scale (VAS). This was measured 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after the first visit, and 6, then 12 hours after the second visit.The study also investigated the proportion of patients who took post-operative analgesic tablets.Results Pain intensity 12 hours after the first and second visits were statistically significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the control group. The proportion of patients who recorded taking analgesics was not significantly different between the two groups.Conclusions Occlusal reduction seems to reduce levels of post root- treatment pain in posterior mandibular teeth 12 hours postopertively, but otherwise makes little difference.