Comparison of analgesic efficacy of pain patches in post-orthodontic extraction-a pilot study

To investigate the efficacy of a single-dose transdermal patch of ketoprofen compared with that of diclofenac postoperatively after therapeutic extraction of first premolar teeth for patients undergoing orthodontic treatment.

A split-mouth prospective study was conducted on 15 patients aged 15 to 25 years who had required therapeutic extraction of both maxillary and mandibular first premolar teeth bilaterally. A single diclofenac patch was applied for the first and fourth quadrant extractions, and ketoprofen patch was applied for the second and third quadrant extractions after atraumatic therapeutic exodontia at two consecutive appointments with the patient under local anesthesia.

All 15 patients who received ketoprofen patch experienced less postoperative pain in the initial 24 hours when compared to diclofenac patch. Two patients, one from each intervention group, had reported with gastric irritation. The number of rescue analgesic tablets taken within the initial 24 hours postoperatively was statistically insignificant. No complications were observed among the two groups postoperatively.

Both the ketoprofen and diclofenac transdermal patches were effective in achieving postoperative analgesia in patients after therapeutic extraction, with ketoprofen superior to diclofenac.