Papacarie-Duo more effective than ART in reducing dental pain in pregnant women: Study

The public dental care sector is striving to fulfil the preventive and restorative needs of Egyptians, including pregnant women, who may not receive timely care due to misconceptions about dental treatment during pregnancy. Because of this, they are likely to suffer dental pain, with a higher risk of infection affecting their offspring.

A group of researchers from Egypt conducted a study to compare the effectiveness of chemo-mechanical caries removal using Papacarie-Duo and Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) in reducing dental pain among pregnant women.

A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted, in 2019, and included 162 pregnant women visiting family health centres in Alexandria, Egypt, with dental pain due to dental caries not extending to a pulp. Patients were randomly assigned to the Papacarie-Duo group (n = 82) and ART group (n = 80) after stratification by a number of treated surfaces. The outcome variables were reduction in pain assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), satisfaction with treatment, and time is taken for dental caries removal. T-test/ Mann Whitney U test was used to compare groups and Freidman test was used to compare change across time.

The results of the study are as follows:

· Pain reduction was significantly greater in the Papacarie-Duo than in the ART group.

· Patients in the Papacarie-Duo group were significantly more satisfied with treatment than those in the ART, immediately after treatment and after 6 months.

· Significantly less excavation time was recorded in the Papacarie-Duo group than in the ART group.

Thus, the researchers concluded that chemo-mechanical caries removal using Papacarie-Duo is more effective in reducing dental pain, in pregnant women, and is associated with more satisfaction and less excavation time than ART.

Reference:

The impact of minimally invasive restorative techniques on the perception of dental pain among pregnant women: a randomized controlled clinical trial by Adham M et. al published in the BMC Oral Health.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-021-01432-3