Recent Modalities in Pain Control and Local Anesthesia in Dentistry: A Narrative Review

Pain in the orofacial region or within the tooth is one of the most common complaints patients report to a dental office. An efficient practitioner must have adequate knowledge and tools to address and remedy the problem. Pain control in dentistry has a rich history and learning about it gives an insight into how the current modalities being used came into existence. As dentistry keeps evolving, newer and more efficient modalities have been developed for pain control. Dental pain is primarily remedied by dental practitioners and clinicians involved in emergency medicine; it may result due to various causes, mainly insulting the tooth or complications involved in and after oral surgery. Several modalities have been developed to reduce and eliminate this, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment modalities. Pharmacological modalities include using drugs. Many medications are used for pain management, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, and muscle relaxants. Non-pharmacological modalities include behavior control methods based on several theories of pain. These modalities are used mainly for children, but some can also be used for adult patients. Several advances in delivery systems for local anesthesia involve using newer technologies to deliver a sustained dose of anesthetic agent. This review aims to enlist both modalities of pain control management in dental practices along with the newer advancements in this field.