Evaluation of the analgesic effect of sublingual administration of wheatgrass (Triticum aestivum) extract for dental pain management in irreversible pulpitis: a randomized clinical trial.

The purpose of this randomized clinical trial was to compare the analgesic effectiveness of sublingual administration of wheatgrass (WG) and piroxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), for patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis, with or without apical periodontitis. Forty-five patients aged 18-40 years were recruited and randomly allocated into three groups receiving the sublingual drug administration: Group 1-WG (500 mg); Group 2-Piroxicam (20 mg); Group 3-Placebo sugar tablet (20 mg) (control). Pain intensity was assessed using the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS; 0-10) prior to administration and again 30 min after the respective interventions. The onset of analgesic action was also recorded for each participant. Statistical comparisons among the groups were conducted using one-way ANOVA with the significance threshold set at p < 0.05. Both sublingual WG and piroxicam demonstrated significantly greater reductions in pain scores compared with the placebo group after 30 min. Notably, participants receiving WG exhibited a significantly higher degree of pain reduction than those receiving piroxicam. These findings suggest that WG may offer a rapid and effective analgesic response when administered sublingually. Given its natural origin, WG may serve as a promising adjunct or alternative to conventional NSAIDs for the short-term management of acute dental pain associated with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.Trial registration: This clinical trial was prospectively registered in Clinical Trial Registry of India under the registration number of CTRI/2024/12/078719 dated on 30/12/2024 ( https://www.ctri.nic.in/ ).