Efficacy of ketoprofen and benzocaine chewing gums for reducing orthodontic pain

Pain relief is important during orthodontic treatment. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of ketoprofen and benzocaine chewing gums for pain reduction during fixed orthodontic treatment. Thirty patients aged 15-25 years experiencing orthodontic pain were randomly divided into 3 groups, each receiving one of the experimental chewing gums namely ketoprofen, benzocaine and the placebo. Instructions were given to the patients and they received the gums taking into account the wash out period. Patients recorded their degree of pain perception at 2, 6 and 24 hours, and 2, 3 and 7 days using the visual analog scale (0-100). Friedman and Wilcoxon tests were used to compare the mean pain scores among the 3 groups. The mean pain score decreased over time in both sexes and all groups (P 0.017). The mean pain score recorded in benzocaine group was lower than that in the ketoprofen and placebo groups but a significant relationship was observed in the ketoprofen gum group only during the first two hours using Friedman and Wilcoxon tests (P=0.042). Compared to the control group, both ketoprofen and benzocaine chewing gums significantly decerased pain at all time points except for day 7. Ketoprofen and benzocaine gums were both significantly effective for orthodontic pain reduction.