Comparative evaluation of Celecoxib (a Cox-2 inhibitor) versus Ibuprofen in control of pain due to Acute Apical Periodontitis

This double – blind clinical study compared the pain reducing effect of Celecoxib and Ibuprofen in patients with severe endodontically originated pain. Methods & Materials: A total of 30 patients presenting with severe pulpally originated pain consented to a single – dose oral administration of 100 mg of Celecoxib or 400 mg of Ibuprofen. Patients – reported Visual Analog Scale (VAS) ratings of pain intensity were recorded at every 15 min for 90 min after drug administration. Data were analyzed using student's t test. Results indicated that at the 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 min periods, both Celecoxib and Ibuprofen provided pain relief, but there was no significant difference between them. At 90 min period, Celecoxib showed significantly better pain relief than Ibuprofen (P<0.01). Based on the results of this study, it seems that Celecoxib has better pain reducing effect than Ibuprofen.