This study sought to assess the influence of Nitrofurantoin and double antibiotic paste (DAP) in alleviating pain among individuals afflicted with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.

This randomized controlled trial recruited sixty participants. Subjects were segregated into three arms: Group I - Nitrofurantoin, Group II - DAP, and Group III - Control. After chemo-mechanical preparation and access opening, intracanal medicament was placed within the root canals.

Pain scores were assessed at preoperative and at twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight, and seventy-two hours using a numerical pain scale. Statistical analysis, including post-hoc testing and one-way ANOVA, was performed, with a p-value of ≤ considered statistically significant.

Before the surgery, the majority of patients experienced pain ranging from mild to intense. Participants in Groups I and II consistently reported a significant decrease in their pain scores (p ≤ 0.001) at each time interval. Conversely, individuals in Group III continued to experience elevated levels of pain even at 72 hours. No variation was observed in the pain scores between participants in Groups I and II (p = 0.193), as shown in Table 1:

Patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis undergo severe pain, necessitating immediate intervention. The study's findings suggest that the application of intracanal medicaments such as Nitrofurantoin and DAP can be effectively implemented to substantially alleviate the pain experienced by these patients.