Successful pain management by Finnish oral surgeons. A clinical follow-up study.

The current practice of postoperative pain management among Finnish oral surgeons was evaluated in a two-phase study. In the first phase, a questionnaire was sent to specialist members of the Finnish Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons that concerned the routine use of analgesic drugs after surgical removal of third molar teeth. In the second phase, the clinical adequacy of pain medication was assessed in 84 patients who had the same procedure. Patients estimated the intensity of pain with a 100 mm visual analogue scale at five time points during the day of surgery and on three postoperative days. Anti-inflammatory analgesics were widely used either alone or in combination with centrally acting analgesic drugs. Tolfenamic acid, diclofenac, and ketoprofen were the most commonly used analgesic drugs. The analgesic effect of the currently used drug combinations proved to be sufficient except in a few patients during the first night after surgery.