The use of a fixed-dose non-opioid analgesic combination of Ibuprofen (NSAID) 400 mg along with Acetaminophen (analgesic and antipyretic) 500 mg may offer suitable postsurgical analgesia after extraction of the impacted third molar.

This double-blind, randomized, multicenter trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of  fixed-dose combination of non-opioid analgesia to opioid-containing analgesia.

The Opioid Analgesic Reduction Study (OARS) pilot study was shaped to try out the methods and tools that would be applied to the full OARS study. Qualified participants described as having 1 out of 5 locations for partial or full bony impacted mandibular third molar surgery were divided by biological sex and randomized to either OPIOID group or NON-OPIOID group as:

• OPIOID group: Received 20 doses of the combination of Hydrocodone 5 mg + Acetaminophen 300 mg
• NON-OPIOID group: Received 20 doses of the combination of Ibuprofen 400 mg + Acetaminophen 500 mg

The surveys, electronic pill bottles, electronic diary, and activity/sleep tracker were used to gather the OARS outcomes data, together with pain, negative consequences (adverse events), pain interference, satisfaction, quality of sleep and remaining opioid medicines for digression.

Overall, 50 study participants accomplished the OARS pilot protocol. NON-OPIOID was more effective in managing pain than OPIOID, in all but 1-time point. Less pain interference, fewer unfavorable events, improved quality of sleep, better satisfaction, and lesser opioid tablets available for digression were inferred from other outcomes.

Fixed-dose non-opioid combination of Ibuprofen 400 mg/Acetaminophen 500 mg exhibited superiority over opioid-containing analgesics (Hydrocodone 5 mg/Acetaminophen 500 mg). People requiring surgical extraction of impacted mandibular third molar would profit from the combination of fixed-dose non-opioid analgesia.