Pharmacological Strategies to Control Post-operative Endodontic Pain

Patients typically associate dental care with pain. Pain has both physiological and psychological components. Endodontic post-treatment pain continues to be a significant problem facing the dental profession. For those patients presenting with preoperative pain, it has been reported that up to 80% of this population will continue to report pain after endodontic treatment. Many studies have demonstrated that endodontic treatment is efficacious in reducing post-treatment pain. Despite the fact that the pain relief afforded by endodontic treatment is effective,it is rarely immediate and complete. Therefore, it is evident that post-treatment analgesic intervention is required in a variable percentage of endodontic cases. The purpose of this review article was to assess three main pharmacologic approaches in the control of post-treatment endodontic pain.