Endodontists’ Self-Assessment about Pharmacological Strategies for Management of Endodontic Pain

Letycia Accioly Simões Coelho; Marcos Dezotti Luiz; Artur Villas Bôas Weckwerth; Rodrigo Ricci Vivan; Marco Antônio Hungaro Duarte; Murilo Priori Alcalde; Paulo César Rodrigues Conti; Yuri Martins Costa; Leonardo Rigoldi Bonjardim

Authors

Letycia Accioly Simões Coelho
Marcos Dezotti Luiz
Artur Villas Bôas Weckwerth
Rodrigo Ricci Vivan
Marco Antônio Hungaro Duarte
Murilo Priori Alcalde
Paulo César Rodrigues Conti
Yuri Martins Costa
Leonardo Rigoldi Bonjardim

Keywords:

Endodontics, Toothache, Knowledge

Abstract

Objective: To assess the pharmacological strategies of a group of Brazilian endodontists regarding endodontic pain. Material and Methods: Specialists answered a questionnaire with two main themes: 1) Pharmacological prescription patterns and 2) Endodontic procedures and risk of postoperative pain. The collective data were presented as descriptive statistics. Results: Almost all endodontists reported using drugs for pain management, mainly for apical abscess (65.8%) and irreversible pulpitis (61%), as well as more after (59.6%) than before (23.3%) endodontic procedure. Dipyrone (72.6%) and ibuprofen (56.8%) were the most prescribed systemic drugs. The most used local anesthetics were mepivacaine (58.2%) and articaine (57.5%). When necessary, 74.7% of specialists use supplementary anesthesia with an additional technique. Extravasation of filling materials (81.5%), limit of apical obturation (71.2%), and instrumentation (66.4%) 1 mm beyond were the main endodontic procedures to increase the risk of postoperative pain. Conclusion: While most strategies employed by Brazilian Society of Endodontics members are evidence-based, divergences in responses highlight the need for further research. This underscores the importance of more profound insights and potential standardization in pain management strategies among professionals.

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