Using Bupivacaine with Wisdom Teeth Removal Results in Less Opioids Prescribed
An interesting article titled “A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study of the Effect of Liposomal Bupivacaine on Postoperative Opioid Prescribing After Third Molar Extraction,” written by Stuart E. Lieblich and et al. appears in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 79, pp. 1401-1408, 2021). The study seeks to explore if patients who have lower wisdom teeth removed using liposomal bupivacaine need less opioids than those wo do not have liposomal bupivacaine. In the study the authors performed a retrospective study of patients who had undergone wisdom teeth extraction at 2 outpatient oral surgery centers in the United States. Patients had to have been at least 18 years of age and undergoing an elective wisdom tooth removal with 1 partial bony or full bony lower impacted wisdom tooth. A total of 600 patients who underwent wisdom teeth extracted were included in … Read more