An interventional study of Dexamethasone and Sodium Chloride 0.9% in Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis, sponsored by CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry. Completed at 1 site in Pakistan. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-22.
Sponsored by CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This randomized controlled trial will compare postoperative pain following root canal treatment in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. The study will evaluate whether using dexamethasone as the final intracanal rinse provides better pain control than normal saline.
Patients requiring two-visit root canal treatment for symptomatic irreversible pulpitis will be randomly assigned to receive either dexamethasone or normal saline as the final rinse during root canal treatment. All participants will otherwise receive the standard root canal treatment protocol.
Postoperative pain will be assessed using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at the specified follow-up time points after treatment. Pain scores between the two groups will be compared to determine whether the addition of dexamethasone as a final intracanal rinse reduces postoperative pain.
Postoperative pain is a common concern following root canal treatment and may persist because of inflammation associated with the treatment of symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Although corticosteroids such as dexamethasone have established anti-inflammatory effects, limited information is available regarding their use specifically as a final intracanal rinse during root canal treatment.
This study will evaluate the effect of dexamethasone used as a final intracanal rinse on postoperative pain in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis undergoing two-visit root canal treatment. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of two parallel groups. The dexamethasone group will receive dexamethasone as the final intracanal rinse, whereas the control group will receive an equal volume of normal saline.
Both groups will undergo the same conventional endodontic treatment protocol, with sodium hypochlorite used during canal irrigation. In the intervention group, 1 mL of dexamethasone solution (4 mg/4 mL) will be used as the final rinse, while the control group will receive 1 mL of normal saline as the final rinse. The root canal treatment will be completed at the second appointment one week after the first visit.
Postoperative pain will be assessed using a 10-point Visual Analog Scale, with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity. The pain scores of participants receiving dexamethasone will be compared with those receiving normal saline to determine whether dexamethasone as a final intracanal rinse is associated with reduced postoperative pain.
The study will be conducted as a two-arm, parallel randomized controlled trial at the Department of Operative Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry, CMH Lahore Medical College. A total of 72 participants will be enrolled, with 36 participants allocated to each study group.
316 studies on the registry are indexed under Pulpitis; 90 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 72 is above the median of 64 across 288 interventional studies indexed under Pulpitis.
Browse Pulpitis studies →CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry is the lead sponsor of 18 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
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Immunosuppression
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Contraindication
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Participants will receive conventional root canal irrigation with saline and 3% sodium hypochlorite, followed by 1 mL of dexamethasone solution (4 mg/4 mL; 1 mg/mL) as the final intracanal rinse before obturation. Root canal treatment will be performed over two visits according to the standardized study protocol.
Drug: Dexamethasone
Participants will receive conventional root canal irrigation with saline and 3% sodium hypochlorite, followed by 1 mL of normal saline as the final intracanal rinse before obturation. Root canal treatment will be performed over two visits according to the standardized study protocol.
Drug: Sodium Chloride 0.9%
Dexamethasone solution (4 mg/4 mL; 1 mg/mL) will be used as an adjunctive final intracanal rinse during two-visit root canal treatment in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Following conventional irrigation with saline and 3% sodium hypochlorite, 1 mL of dexamethasone solution will be delivered into the root canal(s) as the final rinse before obturation. The intervention is intended to reduce postoperative inflammation and pain.
Sodium chloride 0.9% solution will be used as the comparator final intracanal rinse during two-visit root canal treatment in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Following conventional irrigation with saline and 3% sodium hypochlorite, 1 mL of sodium chloride 0.9% solution will be delivered into the root canal(s) as the final rinse before obturation.
Postoperative pain intensity measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
Postoperative pain intensity will be assessed using a 10-cm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), where 0 represents no pain and 10 represents the worst pain imaginable. Pain scores will be recorded at 24 hours, 48 hours, and 7 days after root canal treatment and compared between the dexamethasone and normal saline groups.
Time frame: 24 hours, 48 hours, and 7 days after root canal treatment
Plan to share: No
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This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Studies of the drug tested here: Dexamethasone
CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry