Anesthesia & Pain Management Insider: 1 round of laser therapy may reduce 3rd molar surgery pain

Dear Anesthesia & Pain Management Insider,

Administering an extraoral low-level diode laser for one session of irradiation after wisdom tooth surgery may decrease patient pain, according to the results of a clinical trial recently published in BMC Oral Health. Additionally, using a 940 nm low-level diode laser decreased the number of analgesics patients took after surgery. Read more in our Insider Exclusive.

If you're looking for another tool to decrease pain after third-molar surgery, you may want to try a cool solution. Irrigating with saline at lower temperatures when removing bone during impacted third-molar surgery may reduce patients' pain and other postoperative complications, according to the results of a clinical trial. Cooled saline may be a simple, inexpensive, and effective way to reduce early postoperative complaints.

Also in the Anesthesia & Pain Management Community, a review article published in the Journal of Dentistry describes the multiple techniques used to calm and treat pediatric patients with dental fear and anxiety. Find out which technique is best.

Is cannabidiol oil a viable option for managing dental pain? It may be worth exploring as a potential therapy in dental medicine and oral surgery, according to a commentary published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.

Finally, remimazolam had a higher success rate in sedating patients undergoing outpatient oral surgery compared to midazolam. This study is believed to be the first to evaluate the sedation effects of remimazolam in outpatient oral surgery in relation to midazolam.