Analgesic prescription practice for pulpal pain — An institution-based retrospective study

Abstract

Analgesics are prescribed for various surgical and non-surgical treatments in dentistry; however, they are commonly given for relieving pain. This study is aimed at determining the current analgesic prescription pattern in Chennai to help ascertain that these medications are recommended only when absolutely necessary. The patient records from the Department of Endodontics, Saveetha dental college, Chennai from June 2019-April 2020, and patients who were prescribed analgesics for pulpal pain - pretreatment purpose, pain management, pulp capping, endodontic emergencies and multi-visit RCTs were identified by non- probability sampling method. Data regarding their age, gender, analgesic prescribed and clinic treated were collected and then subjected to statistical analysis. The results of the study show that among the patients for whom analgesics were prescribed for pulpal pain, individuals within the age group of 35-55 years (48.5%) were common and those above 75 years (0.3%) were uncommon. Undergraduate clinics had prescribed the most for patients (85.57%). Male predominance was observed among the patients (52.3%). Majority of the patients have prescribed paracetamol (72.9%), followed by paracetamol and Aceclofenac together (10.9%) whereas tramadol, paracetamol and ketorolac combinations were rarely prescribed (0.1%). Analgesics prescribed and the type of clinic was found to have a strong association (p=0.000). The study draws attention to the fact that there was a lack of uniformity among the dental students, both undergraduate and postgraduate courses regarding use of analgesics in different clinical situations.