2026 Courses and Events

Course #: 4580
Date: 11/30/2026
Time: 10:00am - 11:00am
Course Info: Half Day
Speaker(s):
Paul Desjardins
Kim Milleman, RDH, PhD
Sharon Gordon, DDS, PhD
Todd Bertoch, MD

Topic: Orofacial Pain
Tuition: Free
Credits: 1

Description:

Dental pain management is a routine component of clinical practice and encompasses a range of presentations, including toothache, procedure-related pain, oral inflammation, trauma, and other patient-specific factors. Contemporary guidelines emphasize evidence-based approaches that consider individual patient needs, clinical context, and appropriate analgesic options. This symposium examines the growing evidence surrounding nonopioid analgesics, including NSAID and acetaminophen fixed-dose combination options, and their role in dental pain management. Faculty review clinical data on these combinations, including evidence supporting the latest FDA-approved OTC fixed-dose combination, with a focus on efficacy, duration of relief, safety, and regimen simplicity. Experts in dental clinical pharmacology, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, dental public health, and pain management discuss the strengths and limitations of the available evidence. Participants explore how study design, patient populations, comparators, endpoints, and product labeling influence the interpretation of clinical findings. The symposium provides a practical framework for evaluating evidence and applying patient-centered considerations to dental pain management. Participants gain insights to support informed clinical decision-making across appropriate patient scenarios.

Learn to:

• describe current guideline recommendations and evidence-based considerations for nonopioid analgesic use in dental pain management
• evaluate clinical trial data for FDA-approved OTC NSAID and acetaminophen fixed-dose combination analgesics[MT4.1], including efficacy endpoints, onset and duration of relief, safety findings, and study limitations relevant to dental pain models
• apply evidence-based principles when evaluating the role of fixed-dose OTC combination analgesics within multimodal pain-management strategies for dental pain

Support for this program is provided by Kenvue Brands LLC