The fear of postoperative pain is often mentioned by patients as one of the factors that is most frequently associated with dental implants. To reduce this factor, a single oral dose of 25 mg dexketoprofen trometamol (DKT) or placebo was administered 15 minutes before implant surgery. One hundred patients who required single-implant treatments were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 blinded groups. The patients in the test group were given 25 mg DKT (DKT group), and those in the control group were given 500 mg vitamin C as a placebo (PLACEBO group). A subjective visual analogue scale of 100 mm in length was used to evaluate pain. Inflammation and complications were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. An analysis of variance, t-tests, and a Mann-Whitney U test were performed. Among the 100 patients, 83 completed the study (there were 8 dropouts in the PLACEBO group and 9 in the DKT group). The patients who received DKT reported a lower pain intensity during the immediate postoperative period. The inflammatory response was weaker in the DKT group than the control group at 48 hours, but bleeding was greater. There were no other complications in either of the groups. In conclusion, the preemptive use of 25 mg soluble DKT administered orally 15 minutes before implant surgery can reduce the severity of immediate postoperative pain.
Keywords: dental implants; dental implants/adverse effects.; dexketoprofen trometamol; postoperative/drug therapy; preemptive analgesia.