Anesthesia & Pain Management Insider: Is Botox-A effective for TMD pain relief?

Dear Anesthesia & Pain Management Insider,

Up to 10% of your adult patients may have pain from temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), including refractory masticatory muscle pain. If conservative therapies are not effective, is botulinum toxin type A (Botox-A) an option? Read our Insider Exclusive.

In other Anesthesia & Pain Management Community news, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on October 31 would remove the mandate for dentists to become a Medicare provider for their patient's prescriptions to be reimbursed by Medicare Part D. This bill would theoretically allow older Americans a wider range of dentists to choose from. Read more here.

Do you have patients with dentofacial deformities who also have a pre-existing temporomandibular disorder? If you are concerned about finding the best way to help these patients with both their pain and their jaw function, the researchers of a new study suggest corrective, or orthognathic, surgery may be the ticket. Learn more here.

So-called "immediate-release" opioid pain medications will now be subject to more stringent requirements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help stem the tide of opioid misuse and abuse, according to a statement from FDA Director Scott Gottlieb, MD. Learn more here.