title: Anesthesia and pain management.
abstract: Acute orofacial pain is usually managed by the administration of local anesthetics, systemic analgesics, or a combination of the two methods. In an emergency, intraoral maxillary nerve blockade is helpful for controlling pain in the midface, although infiltrations may be more suitable for discomfort originating from individual teeth or portions of the alveolar process. Mandibular anesthesia can be achieved by open or closed-mouth techniques for inferioral alveolar-lingual nerve blockade. Systemic pain relief is optimized by using full analgesic doses of NSAIDs, with opioids serving to increase the degree of analgesia if required, or to be used, often with acetaminophen, in patients intolerant to NSAIDs.
authors.affiliation: Division of Diagnostic and Surgical Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry, California, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Yagiela
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000379:methods*; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002490:Central Nervous System; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008446:Maxillofacial Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D009055:Mouth / Q000294:innervation; D009407:Nerve Block / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal