Evaluation of the effectiveness of different preemptive analgesia protocols in dental surgery

Preemptive analgesia has as its principle the administration of drugs before the start of painful stimuli, in order to reduce or prevent postoperative pain. Despite its importance, the effects of preemptive analgesia in dental surgeries reported in the literature are still conflicting. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of different classes of drugs for preemptive analgesia, in 2 different research proposals: 1) surgeries for extraction of impacted third molars; 2) periodontal flap surgeries. To this end, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials were carried out where the participants received, 1 hour before surgery, the test drug and the placebo in different surgeries, in a mouth-divided design. In the first research proposal, from a total of 376 patients in need of extraction of lower third molars, class IIB, 100 patients were selected, aged between 18 - 30 years (22.4 ± 2.9), allocated in 5 groups ( n = 20 per group), being: 1) acetaminophen; 2) ketoprofen; 3) ibuprofen; 4) nimesulide; 5) dexamethasone). Through a visual analog scale, postoperative pain was assessed at 1h, 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h and 72h and edema was assessed at baseline, 24h, 48h, 72h and 7 postoperative days. Differences between test drug and placebo were determined as response variable. A separate Generalized Estimation Equation model was separated for each outcome variable and the groups were compared using the Tukey test. Ibuprofen and nimesulide higher overall preemptive sinks in pain controls over time, with no differences between them (p = 0.557). Paracetamol general effects resulting from lower control of edema over time, when compared to other drugs under test, which affect other similar effects (p <0.05). Better results were also observed in the quantity of rescue drugs for ibuprofen and nimesulide, with no differences between them (p = 0.999). It was concluded that ibuprofen and nimesulide are the main general preemptive effects in impacted lower third molar surgeries. Thus, in the decision-making process for preemptive analgesia, ibuprofen and nimesulide should be considered case by case as the drugs of choice. In the second research proposal, from a total of 360 individuals in need of retail surgery, 40 patients were selected, aged between 18 and 60 years (43.40 ± 11.91) years, allocated in 2 groups (n = 20 per group), being 1) ibuprofen; 2) nimesulide. Through the visual analog scale, postoperative pain was assessed at 1h, 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h and 72h. The differences between the test drug and the placebo were determined as the response variable. A separate Generalized Estimation Equation model was separated for each outcome variable and the groups were compared using the Tukey test. The nimesulide group had lower complementary EVA scores at times T12, T24, T72 hours (p <0.001; p <0.001; p <0.007). The use of rescue medication was less secondary and the postoperative time was longer in the ibuprofen and nimesulide test groups compared to placebo (p <0.001). Thus, nimesulide can be considered a beneficial adjunct to the control of postoperative pain in periodontal flap surgeries.