title: Waiting for the pain to get worse: characteristics of a pediatric population with acute dental pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to examine how acute dental pain in children is managed.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective 18-item cross-sectional survey was administered to 300 parent-child dyads seeking care at a large urban tertiary care hospital emergency walk-in dental  clinic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The children's mean age was 8 years, 6 months (±3 years, 2 months). The mean duration of pain was 17.7 days. Seventy-six percent of children had been treated with at least 1 dose of over-the-counter pain medication. Acetaminophen was most commonly used (40%),  followed by ibuprofen (37%). Regression analysis revealed child age to be significantly correlated with over 40% of pain management behaviors. Younger children were less likely to have received over-the-counter analgesia for dental pain (P<.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents delayed seeking  dental care for over 2 weeks. Acute dental pain was most commonly managed with acetaminophen. Seeking dental care was delayed more often for older children.
authors.affiliation: Inpatient Dental Services, The Ohio State University College of Dentistry/Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus, Ohio, USA. thikkurissy.1@osu.edu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thikkurissy
authors.forename: Paul H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Megann K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Smiley
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Casamassimo
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics