Experiences of pain lead to anxiety for both patient and clinician before and after root canal treatment. Pain is not always associated with sensation to noxious stimuli but also associated with the individual experiences, anxiety, stress, expectations and personality. Though the pain may not be a sign of endodontic failure, relieving pain is of utmost importance for the acceptance of endodontic procedure.
Postoperative endodontic pain continues to be a significant problem facing the dental profession (Liesinger, Marshall & Marshall 1993). Up to 80% of endodontic patients who report with preoperative pain continue to experience some level of pain following the endodontic procedure (Marshall 2002). The rate of postoperative pain after endodontic
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There are numerous, well-documented studies that identify predictors of postoperative pain. These predictors are significant in educating both practitioners and patients. ElMubarak, Abu-bakr & Ibrahim (2010) investigated a cohort of 234 patients. They found that patients who undergo root canal therapy with a history of pre-operative pain have 15.9% incidence of post-operative pain within 24 hours post-treatment, compared to 7.1% incidence in those with no reported pre-operative pain. In a meta-analysis by Pak & White (2011) confirmed that the incidence of postoperative pain was greatest in patients who presented with pre-operative pain. Thus it appears, the incidence of post-operative pain involving the target populations for any pain research with existing pre-operative pain are at greater risk of developing post-operative pain (Pak & White …show more content…
Unfortunately, root canal therapy is still perceived by many as a standard against for painful experiences. This is like a two-edged sword. Because patients are expecting pain, it often makes their pain management more difficult. On the other hand, advances in local anesthesia and modern pharmacology allow dental practitioners to deal effectively with the patient experiencing odontogenic pain and, in most cases, exceed their expectations (Marshall 2002). Endodontic pain management encompasses all phases of treatment, preoperative pain control includes accurate diagnosis with anxiety reduction protocol, intraoperative pain control revolves around effective local anesthetic with good operative techniques, and postoperative pain management can involve a variety of pharmacologic agents (Keiser & Hargreaves