Comparison of Postoperative Pain Intensity Following the Use of Three Different Instrumentation Techniques: Randomized Clinical Trial

The purpose of this study was to compare the postoperative pain intensity following the root canal preparation carried out with XP-endo Shaper (XPS; FKG Dentaire SA, La Chauxde-Fonds, Switzerland), iRace (iRC; FKG Dentaire SA) and Reciproc Blue (REC Blue; VDW, Munich, Germany) files. Mandibular molar teeth with asymtomatic necrotic pulp of 69 patients were randomly divided into three groups. (n:23) The root canals were prepared using XPS, iRC or REC Blue instruments and obturated using the lateral condensation technique. The VAS was given to the patient and the patients were asked for recording the pain on 24th, 48th, and 72nd hours and 1 week after the treatment. For intolerable pain after the procedure, ibuprofen (400 mg) was prescribed. The data were analyzed using chi-squared, Friedman, Kruskal–Wallis, and Mann–Whitney U tests. The postoperative pain level gradually decreased during the study period in all the groups (P <.05). No statistically significant difference was found between iRC system and other two systems in 12h, 24h, 48h and 1-week periods (P>.05). When compared to XPS system, a higher level of postoperative pain was observed with REC Blue system in 24h and 48h periods (P <.05). The XPS group had less postoperative pain than the REC Blue group in 24h and 48h periods. iRC system and XPS and REC Blue systems were found to be similar in terms of the postoperative pain severity.