Comparison of Effects of Different Endodontic Irrigating Solutions on Post-Operative Pain During Single Visit Root Canal Treatment

Aims: Comparing the effects of normal saline, 5.25% sodium hypochlorite and 2% chlorhexidine on the post-operative pain intensity after a single visit root canal treatment. Methods: A total of 120 male and female patients requiring an endodontic treatment for necrotic teeth with chronic apical periodontitis were randomly divided into three equal groups (40 each) according to the type of root canal irrigating solution, i.e. group A (normal saline {NaCl}), group B (sodium hypochlorite {5.25% NaOCl}) and group C (chlorhexidine {2.0% CLX}) . The post-operative pain intensity was determined using a self-explanatory questionnaire with four-point pain intensity scale at 6 hrs and 24 hrs and on 4th, 7th and 10th day after a single visit endodontic procedure. Tukey’s test was used to compare significant pain intensity among three root canal irrigating solution. Results: Among group A (NaCl) participants, most of them experienced mild pain at 6th hr. The mean pain score was further compared among the three irrigant groups at different time intervals by Post hoc comparison using Tukey’s HSD test, which showed that group A (NaCl) had a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) with a mean pain value of 0.66±1 at 6th hr post-endodontic pain determination as compared to group B (5.25% NaOCl) and group C (2.0% CLX) where the mean pain value was 1.05±0.91 and 2.48±0.55 respectively. Conclusion: The present study concludes that normal saline should not be used as the sole root canal irrigant during the endodontic treatment especially when the involved teeth are having necrotic pulp and chronic peri-radicular periodontitis to avoid the incidence of post-endodontic pain. Keywords: Endodontics, Irrigant, Pain, Chlorhexidine.