The primary obligation and ultimate responsibility of a dental surgeon is not only to restore aesthetic and function, but also to relieve pain which originates from dental pathology or surgical procedures performed. Post operative dental pain is mainly of inflammatory origin. Common traditional oral analgesics, namely salicylates, paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been the drugs of choice, but are increasingly being superseded by newer designer analgesics, the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors. This article reviews the advantages and disadvantages of prescribing common traditional oral analgesics as well as exploring the potential use of COX-2 inhibitors as an alternative to these analgesics for the control of post operative pain in dentistry.
The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of C02 laser in relieving symptoms associated with Oral lichen planus (aLP) and lichenoid lesions (aLL) and the event of healing. Six patients were selected for this study with 13 sites treated. Each lesion was ablated with C02 laser and the wound allowed to heal undisturbed. Prior to treatment, 4 patients had both unprovoked and provoked pain and 2 patients rated for provoked pain only. After laser ablation, five out of six patients treated recorded no pain / 0 pain score. One month post-laser, the treated area was almost the same colour as the surrounding normal mucosa and soft in texture in all but one patient in which there was some fibrosis and residual plaque-like patch. Weconclude that the use of C02 laser in the treatment of aLP and aLL shows positive results in relieving symptoms associated with these lesions.
Twenty-one patients who underwent ablative surgery for head and neck cancer at Bristol Dental Hospital and School, England between the years 1996 and 2002 were enrolled in the study. A self-completed questionnaire based on Head and Neck Specific measures was addressed to the patients. The overall post-operative quality of life among these patients is acceptable. About half of the patients complained of moderate to severe difficulty in opening mouth wide (55%) and dry mouth (45%) and about one-third had major problems in swallowing solid food (36%), sleep disturbance (32%), trouble eating and enjoying meals (32%) and speech problems (32%). The study shows a tendency for the quality of life to improve steadily with increasing post-operative interval. It is hoped that the results will provide an insight into the patients' functional and psychological recovery, which will in turn help to facilitate the planning of appropriate strategies to improve their quality of life.