ReviewJournal of dental anesthesia and pain medicine2018
Efficacy of corticosteroids for postoperative endodontic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Journal of dental anesthesia and pain medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of preoperative and postoperative medications in reducing pain after non-surgical root canal treatment: an umbrella review.Clinical oral investigations · 2024Pooled it
- Comparative Evaluation of Preemptive and Preventive Analgesic Effect of Oral Ibuprofen in Single Visit Root Canal Treatment- A Prospective Randomised Pilot Study.European endodontic journal · 2022Trial
- Effect of calcium hydroxide vs. tobradex intracanal medicament on postoperative endodontic pain: a pragmatic prospective study.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Effect of Pre-emptive Injection-based Corticosteroid Administration and Its Routes on Post-Endodontic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.Journal of clinical and experimental dentistry · 2026Review
- Effect of Submucosal Cryotherapy on Postoperative Pain in Maxillary Premolars with Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis: A Prospective, Parallel, Triple-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.European journal of dentistry · 2026Article
- The Influence of the Topical Combined Application of Dexamethasone, Ascorbic Acid, and β-Sodium Glycerophosphate on Implant Osseointegration: A Split-Mouth Randomized Clinical Trial.International journal of dentistry · 2026Article
- Effectiveness and Safety of Pretreatment Analgesics and Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Endodontic Pain Management: Overview of Systematic Reviews.International journal of dentistry · 2026Review
- Efficacy of NSAIDs and corticosteroids as premedication for post-endodontic pain management: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of clinical and experimental dentistry · 2025Review
- Effect of Cryotherapy and Occlusal Reduction on Postoperative Endodontic Pain in Mandibular First Molars with Symptomatic Apical Periodontitis: A Prospective, Parallel, Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.European journal of dentistry · 2025Article
- Effect of the Irrigation Agitation Technique on Postoperative Pain in Teeth With Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis.Cureus · 2024Article
- Article
- Comparative evaluation of effect of intracanal cryotherapy and corticosteroid solution on post endodontic pain in single visit root canal treatment.Journal of clinical and experimental dentistry · 2024Article
- Effect of premedication on postoperative pain after root canal therapy in patients with irreversible pulpitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of dental anesthesia and pain medicine · 2021Review
- Effect of Low-level Laser Therapy With Different Locations of Irradiation on Postoperative Endodontic Pain in Patients With Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of lasers in medical sciences · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This systematic review aimed to analyze the efficacy of corticosteroid premedication compared to placebo or no treatment to reduce postoperative pain in endodontic patients. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing corticosteroids via oral, intramuscular, subperiosteal, intraligamentary or intracanal route compared to passive or active placebo, or no treatment were included. Four databases were searched: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Embase up to 2/21/2018. Risk of bias was assessed with Cochrane Risk of bias tool. Fourteen RCTs with 1,462 generally healthy adults in need of endodontic treatment were included. 50% of the studies were at unclear risk and 50% at high risk of bias. Meta-analysis showed Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain at 4-6 hours after Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block (IANB) was significantly lower by 21 points (0-100 scale) in the corticosteroid group compared to the control group (95% CI -35 to -7; P = 0.003), however this difference was not statistically significant after 24 hours (P = 0.116). The route of administration was oral and intraligament injection. Patients who received corticosteroids prior to IANB were 70.7% more likely to have none or mild pain 4-8 hours after treatment (P = 0.001) and 13.5% more likely 24 hours after IANB (P = 0.013) than patients in the control group. In conclusion, corticosteroid administration (oral or intraligamental) may clinically reduce the level of postoperative pain at 4-8 hours after IANB, however the quality of the evidence was low/moderate due to risk of bias and heterogeneity. Further studies are recommended.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.