Non-Opioid Pain Relief
East Lyme, CT
 Did you know that the four most common dental surgeries include root canal, wisdom tooth removal, dental implant, and full-mouth restoration or reconstructive surgery? The severity of the pain felt during these surgeries varies depending on the patient’s threshold, the surgical procedure that was performed, the experience and capabilities of the surgeon, and the kind of anesthesia used before the surgery to numb the pain.
As the general or local anesthesia starts to wear off after the completion of the surgical procedure, the patients feel the full extent of pain. In order to help patients tolerate the pain and discomfort, surgeons will prescribe medicines for pain relief that can be either in the form of tablets, capsules, injections, or syrups. The medicines can either be opioid-based or non-opioid-based depending on the severity of the case, the patient’s medical history, and the doctor’s preference for the prescribed pain relief.
Why is Dental Implant Surgery Painful?
During the dental implant surgery, your gum tissues will be cut in order to access the jawbone underneath. The dental surgeon will then use a perforator drill bit to drill a small hole inside your jawbone so that the metal screw known as the dental implant can be inserted inside to act as the artificial root for your replacement tooth. After implant placement, the gum tissues will be stitched back together using dissolvable stitches. During the recovery phase, you will be prescribed a few pain relief medications to manage the pain as your gum tissues and jawbone heal post-surgery.
Why is Wisdom Teeth Removal Painful?
Wisdom are the strongest, widest, and toughest molar teeth that erupt in a person’s adult life. These third set of molar teeth erupt between the ages of 17 to 25 and become the main grinding tools at the back end of the jaws. But because the wisdom teeth develop and grow at a time when the rest of the permanent teeth have already aligned themselves on the jawbones, their eruption could push the adjacent teeth out of alignment, or they may not even get the space to erupt properly and require tooth extraction surgery.
During the tooth extraction surgery, your dental surgeon will give you local anesthesia to numb the pain. Your gum tissues will be cut until the surgeon can reach the roots of your wisdom teeth. Tools like extraction forceps and elevators will be used to loosen the teeth and pull them out of the jawbones. In case the tooth is too strong and wide, the surgeon may break it into small pieces and remove them one by one. Pulling the tooth out of the roots can be a painful process for the patient. Even though the surgeon cleans and disinfects the surgical site to prevent infection and stitches back the gums, you will be prescribed pain relievers for at least two weeks to help you manage the pain.
Why is Full Mouth Restoration Painful?
Any kind of procedure done to treat facial traumas or a severe malocclusion that requires a jawbone surgery will be classified as full mouth restoration or reconstructive surgery, which may also be referred to as a kind of cosmetic surgery to correct your facial features. For instance, if a person broke their jawbone and lost most of their teeth due to the impact sustained during a car accident, then reconstructive surgery would be required to fix the jawbone. The dental implant surgery will be used as a part of the reconstructive surgery to help in getting a new set of permanent teeth.
As full mouth restoration surgery may include bone grafting, skin grafting, tissue removal, and bone restructuring, the surgery can be a long and painful process for the patient. Its downtime can be anywhere between four to 12 weeks or more. To help you manage the pain during this recovery process, you will be prescribed pain relievers like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Non-opioid Pain Relief for Dental Surgeries
Oral analgesics like NSAIDs or non-opioid pain relievers are found to be more effective for acute dental pain as compared to opioid analgesics. The non-opioid analgesics include medicines like naproxen, aspirin, ibuprofen, and celecoxib that inhibit cyclooxygenase (COX) and reduce inflammation, pain, and fever.
Acetaminophens are also a form of non-opioid pain relief and together can be bought with NSAIDs from a pharmacy to reduce pain and discomfort. A standard dose of non-opioid pain relief includes a combination of NSAIDs and acetaminophens and may be prescribed as 200 mg ibuprofen with 325 or 500 mg acetaminophen.
However, it is to be noted that longer usage or a high dosage of NSAIDs could lead to side effects like gastric problems, nausea, abdominal pain, bleeding, and heartburn. It also increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, pain relievers should only be taken as instructed by the surgeon.
At East Lyme Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, our expert team of oral and maxillofacial surgeons is always ready to address your surgical needs. Call us today at (860) 934-7809 to schedule your appointment.
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