Title

Assessment of postoperative pain following single versus multiple-visit root canal treatment: A randomised clinical trial

Authors

Monika Bhardwaj^1,*, Bhavana Koushik¹, Sneha Khekade¹, Prashanth Shetty², Sazid Hussain³ & Niharika Gahlod⁴

Affiliation

¹Department of Dentistry, American International Institute of Medical Sciences, Udaipur, 313001, Rajasthan, India; ²Department of Conservative and Endodontics, Srinivas Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, 574146, Karnataka, India; ³Dental department, Sudha Medical College & Hospital, Jagpura, Kota, 325003, Rajasthan, India; ⁴Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Swargiya Dadasaheb Kalmegh Smruti Dental College and Hospital, Nagpur, 441110, Maharashtra, India; *Corresponding Author

Email

Monika Bhardwaj - E-mail: monikarv1090@gmail.com, Phone: +91 9166763866
Bhavana Koushik - E-mail: dr.bhavanaomfs@gmail.com, Phone: +919611581431
Sneha Khekade - E-mail: snehakhekade2290@gmail.com, Phone: +91 79727 42817
Prashanth Shetty - E-mail: drprashant10@rediffmail.com, Phone: +91 9649685646
Sazid Hussain - E-mail: dr.sazidhussain@gmail.com, Phone: +91 9636718260
Niharika Gahlod - E-mail: niharika.gahlod@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9096868462

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received March 1, 2026; Revised March 31, 2026; Accepted March 31, 2026, Published March 31, 2026

Abstract

Postoperative pain following root canal procedures remains a significant clinical challenge, with on-going controversy regarding optimal single- versus multiple-visit treatment regimens for mandibular molars with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. This study compared postoperative pain, flare-ups and analgesic consumption between single-visit (n=60) and multiple-visit (n=60) root canal therapies using standardized rotary instrumentation and warm vertical obturation in 120 matched patients. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) measurements revealed similar pain trends across both groups, peaking at 6-12 hours postoperatively with no significant differences in pain scores at any interval. Both approaches showed comparable rates of flare-ups, swelling and analgesic intake, demonstrating equivalent safety profiles and clinical outcomes. These findings advance endodontic practice by validating single-visit root canal therapy as a time-efficient alternative that maintains comparable postoperative pain control and complication rates to multiple-visit protocols.

Keywords

Postoperative pain, root canal treatment, single-visit endodontics, multiple-visit treatment, irreversible pulpitis, randomised clinical trial

Citation

Bhardwaj et al. Bioinformation 22(3): 1326-1331 (2026)

Edited by

Vini Mehta

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.