Wisdom Teeth Extraction: Lessen or Eliminate Opioid Use With This Drug (My Teen's Experience!) by Christie Gosch

Wisdom teeth extraction may by your teen's first contact with opioids and their potential dangers. So, when I learned about a new way to reduce or eliminate the need for these powerful painkillers, I did some research.

Bupivacaine (generic name) is a long-lasting nerve blocker that has been used by surgeons for years, but only recently for oral surgery. The idea behind this drug is that it can numb the surgery site for up to 72 hours, when most of the pain is present, and the need for opioids may be less or not at all when it wears off.

When I approached the oral surgeon about using this drug, he said, "I think this will be the wave of the future, but it can be tricky asking a patient to try a new drug so I'm glad you brought the idea to me!" His confidence allayed my concerns and my teen was onboard. After the surgery, my daughter used a combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, her dosage going up after the nerve blocker wore off, but she never needed anything stronger and was off those medications altogether after the fifth day.

All in all, we were both very happy with the outcome. The drug was not covered by our insurance but was well worth the extra cost.

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