Controlling Postendodontic Pain in Comparison to Placebo: A Randomized Double-blind Clinical Trial

After Root Canal Treatment (RCT), pain control is a concern in dentistry. This double-blind study aimed to compare the efficacy of Celebrex (celecoxib) with placebo in controlling endodontic pain. We, therefore, investigated whether or not Celebrex for pain prevention following endodontic pain therapy is better than placebo. 
This randomized, double-blind study included 43 patients with symptomatic teeth. The patients consented to a prophylactic oral administration of 400mg of celecoxib, 400mg of Celebrex, or a placebo before RCT. The patients recorded their degree of pain intensity on a 170 mm Visual Analog Scale, immediately postoperative, and at time intervals of 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48h after treatment. The SPSS V. 16 (SPSS Inc. Chicago, USA) was used for statistical analysis. The data were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney and Freidman tests and Significance level was set at 0.05.
There was no significant difference between celecoxib and placebo group (P>0.05), whereas the mean pain score was always lower for the celecoxib versus placebo group. The prophylactic Celebrex administration significantly reduced post-endodontic pain after initiation of RCT comparing with celecoxib and placebo group. 
The results of the study demonstrate that the Celebrex may be more effective than celecoxib for the management of postoperative endodontic pain.