Comparative evaluation of the efficacy of diclofenac sodium administered using different delivery routes in the management of endodontic pain: A randomized controlled clinical trial

INTRODUCTION: Pain of endodontic origin is of concern to both the patient and the clinician. Expectation of a painful experience can increase the patient's anxiety levels, making treatment more difficult. Management of endodontic pain is one of the challenging aspects in endodontics. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the intraligamentary mode of administration of diclogfenac sodium is effective in abating endodontic pain during interappointment visits. AIM: The purpose of this clinical trial is to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of diclofenac sodium administered through oral and intraligamentary routes in reducing postendodontic pain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients were randomly allocated into three groups. Group A – placebo (Vitamin B12), Group B – diclofenac sodium (intraligamentary), and Group C – diclofenac sodium tablets. The tablets were given 30 min before the start of the procedure, while the intraligamentary injection was administered before commencing the endodontic procedure. The visual analog scale was used to evaluate the pain score at baseline and 6, 12, 24, and 48 h postoperatively. RESULTS: Prophylactic intraligamentary injection of diclofenac sodium was found to be highly effective in reducing postendodontic pain than the oral route of administration. CONCLUSION: In patients with low pain threshold, intraligamentary route of administration is effective in controlling pain of endodontic origin postoperatively.