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• Posted January 9, 2025

Non-Opioids Can Ease Post-Dental Surgery Pain Better Than Opioids, Study Shows

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs acetaminophen and ibuprofen are better at managing dental pain than opioids.

People who had their wisdom teeth removed got better results from an acetaminophen/ibuprofen combo than with a hydrocodone prescription, researchers reported on Jan. 4 in the Journal of the American Dental Association.

Those given the off-the-shelf meds had less pain, better sleep and higher satisfaction than those prescribed the opioid, results show.

“We think this is a landmark study,” lead researcher Dr. Cecile Feldman, dean of the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, said in a news release from the university. “The results actually came in even stronger than we thought they would.”

Dentists are among the nation’s leading prescribers of opioids, and wrote more than 8.9 million opioid prescriptions in 2022 alone, researchers said in background notes.

For many young adults, dental procedures like a wisdom tooth extraction are their first exposure to opioid medications, researchers said.

“There are studies out there to show that when young people get introduced to opioids, there's an increased likelihood that they're going to eventually use them again, and then it can lead to addiction,” researcher Dr. Janine Fredericks-Younger, associate dean for graduate programs at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, said in a news release.

For the study, researchers randomly assigned more than 1,800 patients undergoing a wisdom tooth extraction at one of five clinics to receive either the acetaminophen/ibuprofen combination or hydrocodone alongside acetaminophen.

The over-the-counter combo managed pain better than the opioid, particularly during the first two days following the dental procedure, results show.

Those taking acetaminophen/ibuprofen had less breakthrough pain, less interference from pain in their daily lives, and better sleep quality, researchers found.

“We were looking at the effectiveness – so how does it work in real life, taking into account what people really care about,” Feldman said.

What’s more, people not prescribed opioids were 46% less likely to fill a new opioid prescription within six months of their dental surgery, researchers found.

The American Dental Association recently issued a recommendation urging that dentists avoid using opioids as a first option for pain relief, researchers noted.

The research team hopes to expand their study to other dental procedures and pain scenarios.

More information

The University of Michigan has more about opioid painkillers and dental procedures.

SOURCE: Rutgers University, news release, Jan. 4, 2025