Result:
Out of 55 patients taking a single dose of Dexamethasone, 47 (85.45%) patients reported a ‘significant’ reduction of pain within 24-72 hrs. Out of the 8 patients (14.55%) in which severe pain was not controlled by these medicines even after 3 days, two tablet of ketorolac tromethamine (10mg) were advised once followed by a single tablet three times a day for another three days. 6 patients (10.9%) reported a ‘significant’ reduction in pain while in 2 (3.65%) patients, tooth extraction was advised as there was no relief in pain rather the pain increased with time. (Table 2)
The sample size is too small to conduct a statistical analysis of the data. However, if the initial trends are to be followed, a single oral dose of 4 mg of dexamethasone can be useful in temporarily alleviating the pain of symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.