Postoperative Pain after Endodontic Treatment of Asymptomatic Teeth Using Rotary Instruments: A Randomized Clinical Trial

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of two different rotary instruments on postoperative pain in teeth with asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 78 mandibular first and second molars were divided into two groups (n=39) and their root canal preparation was carried out with either RaCe or ProTaper rotary instruments. All the subjects underwent one-visit root canal treatment and the severity of postoperative pain was evaluated using visual analog scale (VAS) at 4-, 12-, 24-, 48- and 72-h and 1-week intervals. In addition, the need for taking analgesics was recorded. Data were analyzed with the repeated-measures ANOVA and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for two-by-two comparison. Statistical significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: Comparison of mean pain severity between the two groups at various postoperative intervals did not reveal any significant differences (P=0.10). The difference in amount of analgesics taken by each groups was not statistically significant (P=0.25). CONCLUSION: There were no significant differences in the postoperative pain reported between the two groups; which indicates the clinical acceptability of both systems.