Objective To investigate the effect of microscopic root apical surgery time on postoperative pain degree of patients, and analyze the feasibility of improved nursing measures in reducing postoperative pain.

Methods The clinical data of 109 patients who underwent microapical surgery in the Department of Dentistry and Endodontics of Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital from May 2021 to February 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into group A (operation time < 1.0 h), group B (operation time 1.0 to 1.5 h), group C (operation time> 1.5 to 2.0 h) and group D (operation time>2.0 h) according to the duration of surgery, and their postoperative pain was evaluated by numerical rating scale(NRS). The effect of microapical operation time on postoperative pain was analyzed.

Results From the first day after surgery to the sixth day after operation, the NRS scores of groups B, C and D showed significant difference compared with those of group A (P < 0.05). The NRS scores of group C from the postoperative seventh day to the tenth day showed significant difference compared with those of group A (P < 0.05). The NRS score of group D on the 7th day after operation showed significant difference compared with that of group A (P < 0.05). The NRS score of group C from the postoperative first day to the tenth day after operation and the NRS score of the first day to seventh day after operation showed significant differences compared with those of group B (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in NRS scores between group C and group D at different time points (P>0.05).

Conclusion The shorter the microscopic apical surgery time is, the less the postoperative pain degree and the shorter the recovery time will be. Therefore, shortening the operation time can improve the postoperative pain degree of patients.