Effectiveness of Preoperative Chlorhexidine Mouthwash on Pain After Lower Posterior Teeth Removal: A Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Trial

Background: Pain is one of the most common complications after tooth extraction and pain control is a crucial part of the procedure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of ۰.۲% (w/v) chlorhexidine (CHX) gluconate mouth rinse on the severity of post-extraction pain. Methods: A prospective, randomized, double-blind trial was conducted among ۱۷۰ subjects. Subjects were instructed to rinse with ۱۵ mL of CHX mouth rinse (study group) or placebo (control group) ۰.۵ to ۱ hour before extraction. Post-operative pain was evaluated considering the number of taken rescue analgesics and using a visual analog scale (VAS) that each case completed ۶, ۱۲, ۲۴, and ۴۸ hours after the surgery. The Mann-Whitney U test was performed in this regard. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding demographic variables (P>۰.۰۵). The preoperative use of CHX mouth rinse showed a better performance in mitigating the perceived pain. A significant difference in the pain level (P=۰.۰۰۱) was found only at the ۶th hour postoperatively although there was no significant difference in the pain level between the two groups (P>۰.۰۵) at all other times (۱۲th, ۲۴th, ۴۸th hours). The total number of analgesics that were taken by the study group was significantly lower compared to the control group (P=۰.۰۴۲). Conclusions: The preoperative CHX mouth rinse could be a beneficial choice for reducing pain after simple tooth extractions.