Postoperative pain intensity after using different instrumentation techniques: A randomized clinical study

Postoperative pain is a frequent complication associated with root canal treatment,especially during apical instrumentation of tooth with preexisting periradicular inflammation objectives: the aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the influence of the instrumentation techniques on the incidence and intensity of postoperative pain in single-visit root canal treatment. material and methods: ninety patients with single root/canal and non-vital pulps were included. the patients were assigned into 3 groups according to root canal instrumentation technique used; modified step-back,reciprocal,and rotational techniques. root canal treatment was carried out in a single visit and the severity of postoperative pain was assessed via 4-point pain intensity scale. all the participants were called through the phone at 12,24 and 48 h to obtain the pain scores. data were analyzed through the kruskal–wallis test. results: there was significant difference between all groups (p<0.05). the modified step-back technique produced postoperative pain significantly lower than the rotational (p=0.018) and reciprocal (p=0.020) techniques. no difference was found between the reciprocal and rotational techniques (p=0.868). postoperative pain in the first 12 h period (p=0.763) and in the 24 h period (p=0.147) was not significantly different between the groups. however,the difference in the 48 h period was statistically different between the groups (p=0.040). conclusion: all instrumentation techniques caused postoperative pain. the modified step-back technique produced less pain compared to the rotational and reciprocal techniques. © 2017,faculdade de odontologia de bauru. all rights reserved.