Dental clinics of North America
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Local anesthetics have been especially important in establishing pain control as a fundamental accomplishment in clinical dentistry. When used conscientiously, local anesthetics are effective and safe. It is helpful for clinical dentists to understand the workings of these adjuncts. The more we understand them, the better we will be able to use them.
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Drug administration to geriatric patients in the dental office requires special care. The margin of safety, or therapeutic window, in which the drug is safely effective may be greatly decreased because of physiologic changes with age, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic alterations. Realizing that the elderly are, as a group, more susceptible to adverse drug reactions, the addition of new medications must be undertaken with caution. Consulting with the patient's physician and a close working relationship with clinical pharmacists specializing in geriatrics can facilitate safe and effective drug prescribing.
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Dent. Clin. North Am. · Oct 1994
ReviewNonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for acute pain control.
This article reviews the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, both alone and in combination with opioids, for pain of dental origin. Therapeutic recommendations, which balance therapeutic efficacy and the side effects associated with the use of analgesics in ambulatory patients, are described for preventing and managing acute postoperative pain.