Using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) before tooth extraction can alleviate post-surgery pain and anxiety in children, a study published in British Dental Journal concluded. This randomized trial assessed the pain and anxiety in a total of 56 paediatric tooth extraction patients receiving a pre-operative NSAID (ibuprofen) as compared to the placebo.

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, patients were divided into group A (28 patients) with NSAID given pre-operatively and group B (28 patients) with placebo. Patients were evaluated prior to the extraction, and then 3 hours and 1 day after the extraction. The Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDAS) and Wong-Baker FACES scale were used to assess anxiety and pain.

Although the pain and anxiety scores were not considerably different amongst the groups, however group A had a significant drop in pain (-1.3151) and anxiety scores (-0.6071) than group B after 3 hours of extraction. Thus, before paediatric tooth extraction, NSAID administration may be considered as it leads to considerably reduced post-extraction pain and anxiety.