Dear Anesthesia & Pain Management Insider,
Is intravenous (IV) acetaminophen a viable pain management option after third-molar extraction? In a recent study, researchers tested this treatment against a placebo of IV saline in 72 patients to find out. Read our Insider Exclusive.
In the Anesthesia & Pain Management Community, we've brought you ongoing coverage of the opioid pain medication epidemic:
- The ADA has announced a new policy on opioid pain medications in an attempt to address the ongoing opioid epidemic in the U.S. The policy has three key components: mandatory continuing education, limits on duration of opioid use, and registering with prescription drug monitoring programs. Read more here.
- Dentists are writing fewer opioid prescriptions than other practitioners, but prescribing patterns differ by a patient's race, ethnicity, and sex, as well as by provider type. That's according to a new study of Medicaid recipients published in the April issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association. Learn more here.
- U.S. President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill on March 23 that includes billions of dollars in funding to combat the opioid epidemic. Read more here.
Also, did you know that the average dentist anesthesiologist is a man who works at least four days per week and is optimistic about the future of the profession? This is according a recent survey of more than 200 dentist anesthesiologists in the U.S. and Canada. See our infographic here.
