The effect of various occlusal reduction levels on postoperative pain in teeth with symptomatic apical periodontitis using computerized analysis: a prospective, randomized, double-blind study.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of various occlusal reduction levels on the postoperative pain in teeth diagnosed as symptomatic apical periodontitis by using a computerized analysis system. Thirty-nine molar teeth with symptomatic apical periodontitis were included. After the root canal preparation and filling was performed, the subjects were divided into three groups according to the level of occlusal reduction determined by using T-Scan (T-Scan III for Windows, Tekscan Inc., South Boston, MA) as follows: (1) no reduction (control), (2) semi-reduction, and (3) full-reduction groups. Preoperative and postoperative pain levels using visual analogue scale, percussion pain, and analgesic intake were recorded for each subject. The data were evaluated statistically using two-way analysis of variance and Holm-Sidak post hoc tests at a 95% confidence level (P = 0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of occlusal reduction (P > 0.005). Within the limitation of the present study, there were no significant differences among the no reduction, semi-reduction, and full-reduction groups at 1, 3, 5, and 7days in terms of postoperative pain levels. Occlusal reduction, determined using a computerized analysis system, did not influence the postoperative pain in teeth diagnosed as symptomatic apical periodontitis.