Dear Anesthesia & Pain Management Insider,
Low-intensity lasers reduced pain following extraction and implant surgeries in a pair of blinded randomized controlled trials published this week. Both research groups attributed the results to the laser's anti-inflammatory effects. Read more in our Insider Exclusive.
In other Anesthesia & Pain Management Community news, opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. climbed 37% in 2020, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Strong synthetic opioids accounted for many opioid overdose deaths, but codeine and morphine also contributed to the record-setting spike.
Do you know the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease? A new systematic review identified more than half a dozen orofacial manifestations of Lyme disease, including temporomandibular joint pain, neck pain, and headaches.
No, you're not dreaming: Researchers have proposed hypnosis as a safe, effective, and inexpensive technique that could be used in place of anesthesia during dental procedures. The small study included three women who successfully completed dental surgeries under hypnosis rather than traditional sedation.
Finally, our twice-monthly Dental Dose video series is set to wrap up its overview of local anesthetics on Friday with an episode on prilocaine. If you haven't already watched the series, I recommend checking out the fan-favorite episode on why Carbocaine's greatest strength is also its biggest weakness. Viewers also enjoyed learning why lidocaine is the golden child of dentistry and about the brief history of cocaine in dentistry.
