The use of Dexamethasone and Diclofenac sodium before surgery effectively relieves pain in cortical shell augmentation procedures.

This randomized clinical trial sought to examine the effects of Dexamethasone and Sodium diclofenac as a preoperative antinociceptive treatment.

Subjects who met the specified criteria for inclusion were randomized to two equal groups. In the control group, 7 patients underwent the autogenous cortical shell augmentation procedure with local anesthesia, without the use of preoperative medications for pain management.

In the study group, 7 patients were administered intramuscular injections of dexamethasone and diclofenac sodium prior to the procedure, and they followed the same steps for the augmentation procedure as the control group. Assessment of pain levels for both groups was done immediately following the operation employing visual analogue scale (VAS).

The control group achieved a median value of 7 (with a range of 5 to 10 and a mean of 7±1.83). This result was higher than that of the study group, which had a median value of 1 (with a range of 0 to 6 and a mean of 1.86±2.12). According to the Mann-Whitney U test, the mean rank observed in the control group exceeded the mean rank in the study group. This difference was statistically significant, as depicted in Table 1.

The administration of Dexamethasone and Diclofenac sodium through intramuscular injection just before surgery proved to be effective in reducing patients' pain experiences. This approach presents a valuable option for apprehensive patients who deny general anesthesia for ridge augmentation surgeries.