GP4c - How to Implement an Opioid-free Oral Surgery Practice

Opioids are commonly prescribed for postoperative pain control after both minor and major surgical procedures. Minor oral surgical procedures, such as third molar removal, are often a patient's first exposure to surgery and first exposure to opioid medication. Although many times opioids are necessary for adequate pain management, data have shown many patients receive more opioids than are necessary to relieve pain after a minor procedure. This session will focus on strategies to reduce the amount of opioid medication prescribed for minor procedures in the oral and maxillofacial surgical practice. Alternative postoperative medications will be discussed. The use of injected submucosal medication to lessen the amount of postoperative analgesics needed also will be presented. The addition of innovative postoperative pain control approaches can help make the oral and maxillofacial surgical practice less reliant on opioid medication for pain management.