Orofacial Pain Insider: Salve-soaked gauze may curb 3rd-molar extraction pain, dry socket

Dear Orofacial Pain Insider,

Inserting gauze coated with an antibiotic-corticosteroid ointment into a wisdom tooth extraction site may control dry socket, infection, and pain, according to a study published earlier this month in Oral Science International. Read more in our Insider Exclusive. 

Did you know that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to their exposure to war may experience a higher prevalence of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) signs like pain? The systematic review, which was published recently in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, suggests a link between war-related PTSD and TMD.

In other jaw dysfunction news, developing a TMD in childhood and beyond may be attributed to certain elements of dental care performed under general anesthesia, as well as biopsychological factors, according to a review.

Also in our Orofacial Pain Community, adding fentanyl to midazolam for conscious sedation may improve dental operating conditions for patients, specifically those who could not be sedated with a single drug in the past, according to a recent study in the British Dental Journal.

 Lastly, photobiomodulation light therapy may improve postoperative pain and wound healing after tooth extractions, according to a recent scoping view.