Comparative analgesic potency of aspirin and ibuprofen.

The object of a study was to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of ibuprofen for dental pain. The subjects were outpatients who were undergoing surgical removal of impacted teeth. We compared aspirin, 325 mg; aspirin, 650 mg; ibuprofen, 200 mg; ibuprofen, 400 mg; and placebo. Each patient received a single dose of one of the test medications; there was a minimum of 37 patients in each treatment group. Patients recorded pain intensity before receiving medication; then hourly, for four hours after medication, they recorded pain intensity, amount of relief, and side effects. Time-effect and dose-response curves were generated from the relief and change in pain-intensity scores. First-hour scores, peak scores, and total scores were analyzed. All active medications were significantly better than placebo and the mean effect for ibuprofen was significantly more than for aspirin.