Analgesics Use in Dentistry

Pain is a protective warning sign activated by tissue damage during different pathological processes. The clinical manifestation of pain is individual, multifactorial and very complex and requires the implementation of sound pharmacological approaches. The treatment of odontogenic pain is focused not only in the relief of pain but also in the suppression of causes of pain, mainly the inflammation. Acting as inhibitors of pain mechanism, analgesics are used for symptomatic treatment of pain. There are several groups of analgesic drugs used in dentistry practice and most frequent are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and aniline analgesics. The contemporary strategies for the treatment of odontogenic pain are focused in analgesic drug combinations, which are more effective and have a better safety profile. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen agents are considered gold standard of dental analgesia for mild to moderate intensity of pain, while in moderate to severe pain the use of individual opioid analgesics or combination of opioid and nonopioid analgesics is recommended. The treatment of pain in children and elderly patients is associated with some limitations accompanied with safety concerns and dose reduction. Treatment of pain in dentistry is focused in achieving the satisfactory level of analgesia at low doses possible.