Common Pain Relievers Better for Dental Pain Relief
Over-the-counter pain pills are safer and more effective than prescription opioids for controlling pain following dental procedures, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed studies of medication and medication combinations for pain relief. These included the most severe kinds of postoperative dental pain such as tooth extractions. More than three dozen drugs and drug combinations were tested in various dosages.
The researchers concluded that the most effective pain relief with the fewest side effects comes from a combination of ibuprofen with acetaminophen. No opioid-containing medicine or any other combination of drugs was more effective.
“For most patients, opioids are not only less effective, they also have unpleasant side effects, including nausea, constipation and dizziness. They also carry a high risk of addiction,” – Anita Aminoshariae, Case Western Reserve University
More than half of the opioids prescribed for people who have their wisdom teeth removed have leftover pills.(1) It is believed that over-prescribing could add an extra 100 million opioid pills to American medicine cabinets each year.
Too often those leftover narcotics wind up being misused by patients or their friends and family.
It is agreed that no one should go home in pain, but opioids should not be the first choice.
(1) Study published in the medical journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Read more of this study in the Journal of the American Dental Association
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