Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of tenoxicam compared to diclofenac sodium in controlling postoperative pain after third molar surgery.

Materials and Methods: 36 patients with mean age 30 were selected randomly and placed them in two groups A and B, under group A there are 18 patients and in group B 18 patients were placed, group a is given with tenoxicam 30 mg and for  group b diclofenac sodium 50 mg.

Results: Group A experienced significantly less pain than those patients in group b. at 24 hr on the day of surgery, average pain scores of patients in both treatment groups did not differ significantly. On the evening of the third day postoperatively, the group a (tenoxicam) patients experienced significantly less pain than those in group b (diclofenac sodium).

Discussion: It is generally accepted that pain following third molar surgery reaches moderate to severe intensity within the first 5 hr after surgery. Pain control in this period is thus of vital importance to the oral surgeon. NSAIDs have shown considerable analgesic activity for the relief of pain after surgery. Prostaglandin concentrations do not peak until 4 hr after surgical trauma. tenoxicam has been shown in our study to produce significant analgesia when compared to diclofenac sodium, especially at 3 to 4 hr postoperatively, the period when there is maximum prostaglandin formation in the tissue.

Conclusion: Tenoxicam as administered in the present study was significantly more efficacious than diclofenac sodium and useful for pain control in these cases.