Relative efficacy of oral analgesics after third molar extraction – a 2011 update

Repeated tender point injections of granisetron alleviate chronic myofascial pain - a randomized, controlled, double-blinded trial

“…The NNT in the GRA-group was 3.3 at the 2-month follow-up which is comparable to commonly used analgesics for acute orofacial pain ranging from NNT 1.8 (naproxen, ibuprofen) to NNT 4.5 (aspirin) [ 50 ], or topical NSAIDs for acute musculoskeletal conditions ranging from NNT 1.8 (diclofenac) to far over NNT 4 (the majority of topical NSAIDs) [ 51 ]. The NNT in the GRA-group was 4.0 at the long-term follow-up, which is better than salicylate-containing topical analgesics for chronic musculoskeletal pain (NNT 6.2) [ 52 ] It is also better than botulinum toxin type A for treatment of M-TMD pain that showed NNT values of 11 and 7, after 3 months and 6 months, respectively [ 53 ].…”

Effect of Ibuprofen on Masking Endodontic Diagnosis

“…In fact, 400 mg of ibuprofen is more effective analgesic than 1000 mg acetaminophen for patients with acute pain (Cooper et al 1989). There is information on over 5,400 patients proving that ibuprofen 400 mg is an effective analgesic in postoperative pain (Collins et al 1998;Derry, Wiffen, and Moore 2011). According to the league table, 800 mg of ibuprofen is at the top of the league, with the lowest (best) NNT of 1.6 and with 100% of patients achieving at least 50% pain relief.…”

Why do we prescribe Vicodin?

“…One effective alternative is the combination of APAP and ibuprofen. [25][26][27][28] If pain is severe and an opioid is deemed necessary, an analgesic combination containing an NSAID such as ibuprofen rather than APAP is likely to be more effective when appropriate. 7,9 Multimodal perioperative pain management approaches that include preemptive NSAIDs to limit pain severity, long-acting local anesthetics to delay pain onset, and corticosteroids to limit postoperative inflammation and swelling may diminish or eliminate the need for opioid analgesics.…”