Previous studies have indicated that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs administered prior to
oral surgery procedures are effective in reducing
postoperative pain. The purpose of the present study was to compare the efficacy of medicating with
ibuprofen immediately presurgically to medicating immediately postsurgically on
postoperative pain associated with periodontal surgery. Sixty patients who were to undergo periodontal surgery were randomly divided into 3 groups: the I-pretreatment group received 600 mg
ibuprofen immediately presurgically and placebo immediately after the surgery; the I-post-treatment group received placebo before surgery and 600 mg
ibuprofen postsurgically; the placebo group received placebo at both time periods. Responses from an 8-hour
pain diary completed by each subject were quantified and statistically evaluated non-parametrically. Results indicated that dosing with
ibuprofen either immediately before or immediately after periodontal surgery significantly delays onset of
pain as compared to placebo, with dosing after surgery demonstrating a significantly greater delay of onset of
pain as compared to dosing presurgically. In addition, unlike the presurgical dosing, dosing postsurgically significantly decreases mean
pain intensity for a combined 8-hour period following periodontal surgery as compared to placebo.