The ADA News (3/2, Garvin) reports, “The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first over-the-counter ibuprofen and acetaminophen combination drug for the U.S.” Advil Dual Action “will be available nationwide later in 2020 and contains 250 mg of ibuprofen and 500 mg of acetaminophen, said GlaxoSmithKline, the drug’s manufacturer, in a news release.” Noting “the ADA has long advocated for the development of a single strength-controlled acetaminophen-ibuprofen combination drug to be available over-the-counter for dental patients,” the article reports that “Dr. Mia Geisinger, chair, ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, cheered the news and pointed to the ADA Science Institute’s 2018 overview of systematic reviews of acute pain medications that concluded combinations of ibuprofen and acetaminophen ‘offered the most favorable balance between benefits and harms’ for treating dental pain.”
Follow all of the ADA’s advocacy efforts, policies, and positions on opioids at ADA.org/opioids.
As a public service, the ADA Center for Professional Success website is now offering free access to information on safe prescribing, online continuing education, and other tools for managing dental pain, especially for patients who are at risk for drug overdose or addiction. For more information, visit Success. ADA.org/opioids. In addition, the Oral Health Topics on ADA.org provide information on oral analgesics for acute dental pain for dental professionals.
ADA CE Online offers the courses Safe and Responsible Prescribing of Opioid Analgesics and Pharmacotherapeutics for Dental Practitioners: Analgesics Clinical Implications, and the ADA Catalog features the book The ADA Practical Guide to Substance Use Disorders and Safe Prescribing