Elsevier

Journal of Endodontics

Volume 35, Issue 2, February 2009, Pages 189-192
Journal of Endodontics

Clinical research
Relationship between Postendodontic Pain, Tooth Diagnostic Factors, and Apical Patency

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joen.2008.11.014Get rights and content

Abstract

This study compares the incidence, degree, and length of postoperative pain in 300 endodontically treated teeth, with and without apical patency, in relation to some diagnostic factors (vitality, presence of preoperative pain, group, and mandible of treated tooth). Of the questionnaires received back, apical patency was maintained during shaping procedures with a #10 K-file in one group (n = 115) and not in the other (n = 121). There was significantly less postendodontic pain when apical patency was maintained in nonvital teeth. If pain appeared, its duration was longer when apical patency was maintained in teeth with previous pain or located in the mandible. Maintenance of apical patency does not increase the incidence, degree, or duration of postoperative pain when considering all variables together.

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

This research was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee of Clinical Research of Saint Carlos Hospital-Madrid.

Three hundred endodontic treatments were performed in uniradicular, biradicular, and multiradicular teeth by one endodontist, all of them in single visits. All patients were informed of the aims and design of the study, and written authorizations were obtained before their inclusion.

Exclusion criteria were the need for retreatment, pregnancy, failure to obtain patient's

Results

Results are shown in TABLE 1, TABLE 2, TABLE 3.

Discussion

One of the main problems in studying pain is the patient's subjective evaluation and its measurement. For this reason, design of the questionnaire is critical and must ensure that it will be fully understood by patients and easily interpreted by researchers.

In this report, a simple verbal categorization was used in the feedback form with 3 categories: mild, moderate, and severe. These categories were straightforwardly understood by patients and were defined by the presence or absence of the

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