pem pearl: dental pain
Here is a review of management of pediatric dental pain in children. Dental pain can affect over 1/3 of children and is often classified as severe (7-8/10).
Causes of pain:
Causes of pain:
- Dental caries (brushing with fluoride toothpaste is one of the primary preventative measures to avoid caries)
- Pulpitis: untreated caries, trauma, multiple restorations and leads to bacterial superinfection
- Trauma
- NSAIDS (ibuprofen) outperformed acetaminophen in several studies
- Alternating or combination therapy outperformed placebo (yep...)
- Opioids are contraindicated, especially under 12 years of age
- Amox/clav is preferred if there are signs of infection
- Amoxicillin: can also be used if definitive dental treatment is delayed or as prophylaxis in other higher risk situations (immunocompromised)