Comparative evaluation of post operative pain after irrigation with different concentrations of sodium hypochlorite: a split mouth triple blinded randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: Post-endodontic pain is a frequently occurring adverse outcome that impacts a patient’s recovery after a root canal procedure. A range of 4% to 50% of patients experienced moderate-to-severe discomfort after undergoing endodontic therapy. American Association of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) standards recommend treating primary teeth with 1% sodium hypochlorite irrigation. Despite its widespread use, there is no study comparing postoperative outcomes of 1% sodium hypochlorite and higher concentrations. The aim of this study was to compare the postoperative pain following pulpectomy procedures in primary teeth irrigated with 1% sodium hypochlorite versus those irrigated with a higher concentration of 3% sodium hypochlorite. Materials and Methods: This study was a split mouth trial. A total of 36 participants were allocated into two groups. In group 1, canal was irrigated using 1% sodium hypochlorite solution, and in group 2 canal was irrigated using 3% sodium hypochlorite solution. Results: Post operative pain after the procedure was evaluated using a visual analogue scale at four specific time intervals baseline, 6 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours. However, 8 participants who took analgesics were excluded, resulting in 28 participants. The paired t test was utilized to evaluate the difference between two groups. At 6 hours, the 1% NaOCl group reported considerably less pain than 3% NaOCl group with a p value 0.003. However, at 12 hours and 24 hours there was no statistical difference between the groups with a p value >0.005. Conclusion: This study indicates that, in comparison to higher concentrations, the use of 1% sodium hypochlorite showed reduced postoperative discomfort.

KEYWORDS

Irrigation; Pain; Primary teeth; Pulpectomy; Sodium hypochlorite.