Overview
- Across five U.S. university sites, more than 1,800 adults undergoing impacted wisdom tooth extraction were randomized in the trial.
- Patients given 400 mg ibuprofen plus 500 mg acetaminophen had better pain control during the first post‑op day and night than those receiving 5 mg hydrocodone with acetaminophen, with no loss of effectiveness afterward.
- Non-opioid patients reported better sleep and less disruption of daily activities, and those on opioids were about twice as likely to request additional medication.
- The results reinforce American Dental Association guidance to avoid opioids as first-line therapy and challenge routine “just in case” dental opioid prescriptions.
- Dentists wrote more than 8.9 million opioid prescriptions in 2022, and investigators say their next research will target how to change entrenched prescribing patterns.