Control of pain resulting from endodontic therapy: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study

The efficacy of mefenamic acid, aspirin, and a placebo for control of postendodontic pain was compared in a double-blind, randomized study of 150 patients. Medication was begun immediately prior to the endodontic therapy and continued for a total of eight doses. The results were analyzed in terms of the patients' assessments of postendodontic pain, the need for additional analgesic medication, and the patients' and investigator's evaluations of drug efficacy. The results indicate that mefenamic acid was well tolerated. Mefenamic acid was equal to, or exceeded, aspirin in ability to control postendodontic pain in every comparison made. The converse was never true. Mefenamic acid was statistically superior to placebo in every comparison made. Aspirin was not consistently superior to the placebo. Under the conditions of this trial, it can be stated that, for control of pain following simple endodontic therapy, mefenamic acid rather than aspirin is the drug of choice.