Pain Perception following Different Periodontal Procedures

Pain is a subjective perception due to different stimuli. Periodontal therapy includes non-surgical as well as surgical procedures that may trigger the pain after administration of such procedures. The objectives of this study were: 1) to assess the degree of pain and discomfort experienced after different periodontal procedures (surgical and non-surgical) using a series of visual analogy scale (VAS) and 2) to evaluate the influence of patients’ related factors such as: age, gender, and medical status on pain perception. A consecutive group of 96 patients (34 males, 62 females) who received periodontal treatment (surgical and non-surgical) at periodontal clinics were studied. The patients indicated the pain and discomfort that they had experienced with the treatment in a VAS. After periodontal therapy, 44.8% of the patients experienced mild pain. The severity of pain decreased with time. The same results were obtained for both post-operative swelling (32.3%) and discomfort (37.5%). Patients between ages of 36-45 years had the highest pain score (33.3%); while those patients between 18-25 years had the highest discomfort experience (55.5%). Scaling and root planing had the least pain, swelling and discomfort scores as compared to implant and periodontal surgeries. It can be concluded that mild pain was the type of pain mostly experienced with both surgical and non-surgical periodontal treatment by patients. Therefore; the need for strong analgesics following such treatment modalities is not indicated.