Pain Management for Dental Medicine in 2021: Opioids, Coronavirus and Beyond

Scrivani SJ, Keith DA, Kulich RJ, DaSilva AF, Donoff RB, Handa S, Holland N, Lerman MA, McCauley JL, Reisner L, Resnick CM, Stohler CS, Vasciannie A, Fortino M, Schatman ME.
J Pain Res. 2021 May 24;14:1371-1387.
doi: 10.2147/JPR.S319373.
PMID: 34079355; PMCID: PMC8164473.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34079355/

Over the past year our attention has inevitably been on the coronavirus pandemic, the health and welfare of our families, patients, and office staffs as well as the re-opening of our dental practices. In addition, the opioid crisis continues, is very likely to worsen as a result of the pandemic and continues to be a challenge to Dentistry. National public health issues and healthcare disparities continue and have created a global concern for providing evidence-based, adequate pain management in the dental setting. We have brought together a group of national thought leaders and experts in this field who will share their insights on the current state of opioid prescribing in Dentistry and describe some of the exciting work being done in advancing pain management. The learning objectives for this conference proceedings were: Describing the implications of current public health concerns for safe and effective pain management in dental medicine.Identifying risk factors and understanding the current guidelines for the use of opioid and non-opioid medications in dental medicine.Analyzing the interprofessional collaborations necessary for effective pain management in dental medicine.Recognizing the challenges and opportunities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic for the dental profession.Applying evidence-based strategies for managing the complex pain patient in the dental setting.Appraising new and future modalities for the assessment and management of orofacial pain.

Keywords: COVID-19; Dentistry; opioid analgesia; pain management.