Efficacy and Safety of Ibuprofen and Caffeine in Dental Pain

Inclusion criteria

• Males and females 18 to 55 years of age;
• Outpatients scheduled to undergo surgical extraction of 3-4 impacted third molar(s), with a minimum of two mandibular extractions. The two mandibular third molars may be partial bony impactions or full bony impactions (as long as the trauma rating is not severe and the surgeons do not feel the subject will have extreme post-surgical pain) OR there may be a combination of one full bony impaction with the second mandibular being a soft tissue impaction or partial bony impaction. Maxillary third molars (or supernumerary teeth) of any type can be extracted;
• Use of only the following preoperative medication(s)/ anesthetic(s): topical benzocaine, short-acting local anesthetic (mepivacaine or lidocaine) with or without vasoconstrictor and/or nitrous oxide;
• Reliable, cooperative, and of adequate intelligence to record the requested information on the analgesic questionnaire form;
• Examined by the attending oral surgeon or physician and medically cleared to participate in the study;
• Scheduled to undergo a qualifying surgical procedure;
• In good general health, with a BMI of 30 or less, and have no contraindications to any of the study medications or anesthetic drugs;
• Subjects have at least a categorical pain score of moderate and a numerical rating scale (NRS) score of 5 or greater within 4.5 hours from the time of the last suture.

Exclusion criteria

• Presence of a serious medical condition (e.g., poorly controlled hypertension, poorly controlled diabetes, significantly impaired cardiac, renal or hepatic function, hyper- or hypothyroidism);
• Use of a prescription or non-prescription drug with which the administration of ibuprofen or any other non steroidal anti inflammatory or caffeine is contraindicated;
• Acute local infection at the time of surgery that could confound the post-surgical evaluation;
• Females who are pregnant, lactating, of child-bearing potential, or post-menopausal for less than 2 years and not using a medically approved method of contraception (i.e., oral, transdermal, intravaginal or implanted contraceptives, intrauterine device, diaphragm, condom, abstinence, or surgical sterility), or females who test positive on a urine-based pregnancy test;
• Presence or history (within 2 years of enrollment) of bleeding disorder(s) or peptic ulcer disease;
• History of alcoholism or substance abuse within the last year, or is currently abusing alcohol or other mood-altering drugs (e.g., cannabis). Subjects who are taking central nervous system or other psychotropic drugs (including St. Johns Wort, or any other nutritional supplement known to have psychotropic effects) may be enrolled if they have been on stable doses of medication for at least 2 months, will maintain this dose throughout the study, and their condition is judged by the Principal Investigator to be well-controlled;
• Habituation to analgesic drugs or caffeine (i.e., routine use of oral analgesics 5 or more times per week or ingestion of 4 or more caffeine-containing drinks daily); use of "high energy" drinks more than once per week;
• Use of any type of systemic corticosteroid within the past 30 days or a history of current or previous use of anabolic steroids;
• History of allergic reaction (e.g., asthma, rhinitis, swelling, shock, or hives) to acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, celecoxib, or any other non steroidal anti inflammatory or caffeine;
• Prior use of any type of analgesic or non steroidal anti inflammatory within 5 half-lives of that drug before surgery, except for pre-anesthetic medication and anesthesia for the procedure;
• Ingestion of any caffeine-containing beverages, chocolate, or alcohol 6 hours or less before surgery;
• Has impaired liver function, e.g., serum Alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, or Gamma-glutamyltransferase greater than 2.5 times the upper limit of normal, or blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, or bilir