The effect of pain intensity levels and clinical symptoms on the treatment preferences of patients with endodontically involved teeth: A preliminary cross-sectional study

Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the effect of pain intensity levels and clinical symptomson the treatment preferences of patients with endodontically involved teeth in alocal Turkish population.Subjects and MethodsA total of 30 patients with symptomatic teeth requiring non-surgical root canaltreatment were included in the study. The patients’ demographic (age, gender,and education level) and diagnostic data (tooth type, pain intensity, response topercussion and palpation, presence of referred pain, and diagnosis) were analyzed.Data on the patients’ explicit preferences (requested treatment, whether they arewilling to accept a proposed extraction, choice of treatment if an anterior tooth wasinvolved, and choice of treatment if the pain was not severe) as well as previous rootcanal treatment experiences were also analyzed. Pain intensity levels were evaluatedusing the Visual Analog Scale.ResultsPain intensity levels had a significant effect on the treatment requested by thepatient (p=0.001). Among the patients who requested extraction upon referral tothe clinic, the rate of those who reported that they would not accept extractionif the pain was located in an anterior tooth was significantly lower than that ofpatients stating that they would refuse (p=0.039). The presence of referred pain alsohad a significant effect on the requested treatment (p=0.001).ConclusionThe intensity of pain and the presence of referred pain influence patients’ treatmentpreferences