wisdom teeth removal

Hydrocortisone Shows Promise in Reducing Pain and Swelling After Wisdom Tooth Removal

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An interesting article titled “Efficacy of Hydrocortisone, Povidone-Iodine, and Normal Saline as an Irrigating Solution During Surgical Removal of Impacted Mandibular Third Molars: A Randomized Controlled Trial” written by Faheem Ahmed and et. al. appears in Cureus published February 01, 2024. The study sought to compare the effects of three irrigating solutions, hydrocortisone, povidone-iodine, and normal saline, on pain, trismus, and edema following removal of impacted lower wisdom teeth. Wisdom tooth removal, also known as the surgical removal of impacted third molars, is a common dental procedure, often accompanied by pain, swelling (edema), and difficulty opening the mouth (trismus). Researchers have been looking for ways to alleviate these post-surgical concers. The study metnioned in this article compared the effectiveness of three irrigation solutions used during surgery. The study involved 105 patients between the ages of 18 and 40 who needed … Read more

Prompts to reduce opioid prescribing

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An interesting study with a potential technique to reduce opioid prescribing is published in Nature Communications by Doctor, J.N., Kelley, M.A., Goldstein, N.J. et al. titled A randomized trial looking at planning prompts to reduce opioid prescribing (vol.15, no. 263, 2024). The article suggests informing doctors about patients who died from overdoses, combined with specific guidance on safer prescribing practices, may be an effective way to reduce risky prescriptions of opioids and benzodiazepines. Despite efforts in the U.S. to reduce opioid addiction and related fatalities, it is believed too many opioids are still prescribed. Some evidence has shown that notifying doctors about an overdose death of a patient may be effective. Researchers from the University of Southern California investigated this approach by sending personalized letters to clinicians in Los Angeles County. Some received letters simply notifying them about a patient’s overdose death, while others received … Read more

Comparing the effectiveness of diclofenac, celecoxib and ibuprofen for wisdom teeth removal.

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An interesting study titled “Comparative Effect of Celecoxib, Diclofenac, and Ibuprofen in Controlling Postoperative Pain, Edema, and Trismus After Third Molar Extraction: A Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial” written by L. Bassyoni on February 06, 2024 appears in Cureus 16, no. 2, e53687. The study sought to compare celecoxib, diclofenac, and ibuprofen for managing postoperative pain, swelling, and mouth opening ability (trismus) after wisdom teeth surgery. The study included participants recruited from the oral and maxillofacial surgery specialty clinics at King Abdul-Aziz University Dental Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Only one impacted lower wisdom tooth was extracted at the time of surgery. The study was a double-blinded randomized controlled trial which meant that study participants were randomly assigned to one of the three medication groups and neither they nor the researchers the medications received. The study was rather small and only had … Read more

Marijuana derivative might be an alternative for opioids for dental pain

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An interesting article titled “Cannabidiol as an Alternative Analgesic for Acute Dental Pain” written by V. Chrepa and et. al. was published November 1, 2023 in the Journal of Dental Research. The article sought to assess the effectiveness and safety of cannabidiol (CBD) as an analgesic for patients with acute dental pain. The study showed that CBD, a non-addictive and non-psychoactive component of Cannabis sativa, demonstrated potential as a therapeutic analgesic for acute dental pain. CBD may offer a safer and equally efficacious alternative to opioid-based medications. This is believed to be the first randomized clinical trial testing CBD for the management of dental pain. Currently dentists and oral surgeons have switched to anti-inflammatories such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen as the first line of defense for dental pain, see for example the post Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs better than opioids for pain after … Read more

Dental Opioid Prescriptions after Covid: A Slowdown in Decline

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An interesting article titled Association between the COVID-19 outbreak and opioid prescribing by U.S. dentists written by Jason Zhang and et. al. appears in PLoS ONE, published on November 2, 2023, vol. 18, no. 11, pp. e0293621. The authors sought to evaluate the association between the COVID-19 outbreak and the rate of opioid prescribing by U.S. dentists The opioid crisis in the United States has cast a long shadow, reaching even into the realm of dental care and widom teeth removal. While national efforts have led to a gradual decline in opioid prescribing overall as discussed in the post Oral Surgeon Opioid Prescribing Habits in the US during 2016 to 2019, the study reveals a worrying trend: the COVID-19 pandemic may paused the efforts on progress in the dental field. For many years, the number of opioid prescriptions give out … Read more