Efficacy of Root Canal Chemomechanical Debridement in Patient Pain Perception: From Preoperative Baseline to 48-Hour Follow-Up

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Mohammed S Alzahrani

 
For citation: Alzahrani MS. Efficacy of Root Canal Chemomechanical Debridement in Patient Pain Perception: From Preoperative Baseline to 48-Hour Follow-Up. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2026;16(2):259-265. doi:10.21103/Article16(2)_OA17
 
Originally published June 5, 2026

Abstract: 

Background: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of root canal chemomechanical debridement in reducing patient pain from preoperative baseline to 48 hours post-treatment and to identify clinical or demographic predictors of postoperative discomfort.
Materials and Methods: In this prospective clinical study, 92 patients requiring non-surgical root canal treatment were enrolled. Canals were prepared using the ProTaper Gold rotary system and 5.25% sodium hypochlorite irrigation. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either calcium hydroxide intracanal medicament or no medicament. Pain intensity was recorded preoperatively, and at 24 and 48 hours using a 4-point visual analog scale (VAS). Data were analyzed using Spearman’s rank correlation, Chi-square, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (P < 0.05).
A highly significant reduction in pain was observed at both 24 and 48 hours (P < 0.0001). Preoperative pain severity showed a strong negative correlation with the magnitude of pain reduction at 48 hours (ρ = -0.8709, P < 0.0001). Demographic factors (age, gender), tooth type, pulpal/periapical diagnosis, and the use of calcium hydroxide did not significantly influence postoperative pain levels (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: Chemomechanical debridement is highly effective for immediate pain resolution, particularly in patients with high baseline symptoms. Postoperative pain is independent of anatomical location or the use of interim medications.

Keywords: 
endodontics • postoperative pain • chemomechanical debridement • calcium hydroxide
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Received February 2, 2026.
Accepted March 21, 2026.
© 2026 The Author(s). International Journal of Biomedicine is published by IMRDC.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.