Effectiveness in Pain Control of Alvogyl Versus Zinc Oxide-Eugenol in Patients Having Dry Socket: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the eff ectiveness of pain control between Alvogyl and Zinc Oxide in individuals experiencing dry socket.Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted at Bacha Khan College of Dentistry, Mardan with the inclusion of 60 participants (30 in each group). Inclusion criteria comprised patients with dry socket occurring two or three days after extraction, aged between 12 and 60 years, of both genders, and Pakistani nationals. Exclusion criteria included medically compromised patients, pregnant females, individuals with a history of radiotherapy, and those with any known allergy to eugenol. One group was treated with Alvogyl, while the other received Zinc oxide eugenol packing. The time to initial pain relief (in minutes) and complete cessation of pain (in days) were recorded through phone calls. The Student t-test was employed to compare the outcome variable between the two groups.Results: The mean age was 29.27 ± 6.60 years, with 30 females (50%) and 30 males (50%). The time for initial pain relief was signifi cantly longer for ZnO Eugenol (26.04 ± 3.82 minutes) compared to Alvogyl (6.81 ± 2.25 minutes), with a statistical signifi cance of p < 0.001. Similarly, the time for fi nal pain relief was also significantly longer for ZnO Eugenol (8.78 ± 0.24 days) compared to Alvogyl (6.88 ± 0.64 days), with a p-value of less than 0.001.Conclusion: Based on our results, it can be concluded that Alvogyl is superior to Zinc oxide eugenol in the management of dry socket, particularly in terms of pain relief.