The impact of minimally invasive restorative techniques on perception of dental pain among pregnant women: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: The public dental care sector is striving to fulfill the preventive and restorative needs of Egyptians, including pregnant women, who may not receive timely care due to misconceptions about dental treatment during pregnancy. Because of this, they are likely to suffer dental pain, with higher risk of infection affecting their offsprings. Aim of the study: To compare the effectiveness of chemo-mechanical caries removal using Papacarie-Duo and Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) in reducing dental pain among pregnant women. Materials and methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted, in 2019, and included 162 pregnant women visiting family health centers in Alexandria, Egypt, with dental pain due to dental caries not extending to pulp. Patients were randomly assigned to Papacarie-Duo group (n = 82) and ART group (n = 80) after stratification by number of treated surfaces. The outcome variables were reduction in pain assessed using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), satisfaction with treatment, and time taken for dental caries removal. T test/ Mann Whitney U test were used to compare groups and Freidman test was used to compare change across time. Results: Pain reduction was significantly greater in the Papacarie-Duo than the ART group (81.55% and 69.43%, P = 0.001). Patients in the Papacarie-Duo group were significantly more satisfied with treatment than those in the ART, immediately after treatment (mean = 9.60 and 8.00, P = < 0.01) and after 6 months (mean = 9.63 and 8.16, P = < 0.01). Significantly less excavation time was recorded in the Papacarie-Duo group than in the ART group (mean = 10.38 and 11.56 min, P = < 0.01). Conclusion: Chemo-mechanical caries removal using Papacarie-Duo is more effective in reducing dental pain, in pregnant women, and is associated with more satisfaction and less excavation time than ART.