Working Together: Your Pharmacist and Your Dentist

Did you know: Your dentist and compounding pharmacist can work together?

Seeing the dentist can lead to anxiety and frustration, especially when unforeseen issues arise. Fortunately, your dentist and compounding pharmacist can work together to optimize your care and make your experience a good one — or at least a better one.

Dental compounding has become more popular in recent years, for good reason. Dental procedures and care plans vary from person to person, and patients themselves often have specific needs … and pain tolerance levels. In these cases, compounded products tailor-made to match your dental needs are great options.

Dentists can use compounded medications for many different conditions. For example, patients who experience dry mouth (known as xerostomia), often find compounded medications provide greater relief compared to available over-the-counter treatments. And patients with halitosis — bad breath — can try a compounded mouthwash that combines coenzyme Q10 with a biofilm reducer like xylitol.

Dentists also use compounded products as numbing agents prior to some procedures. These compounds provide both long-lasting and quick-acting pain control for patients. And don’t worry about the taste; compounding pharmacists are able to flavor medications (and provide sugar-free and dye-free options).

In addition to common dental medications such as pain relievers and sedatives, pharmacists may compound medications for a variety of dental work, including:

• Dry socket treatments
• Fluoride treatments
• Medications for gum disease
• Plaque removers
• Mouth washes
• Oral ulcer medications
• Canker sore treatments
• Tooth whiteners

Working together, your dentist and compounding pharmacist can develop a customized treatment plan for your oral and dental health issues and get you smiling again!

References

1. Lee, H.-S. (2016). Recent advances in topical anesthesia. Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, 16(4), 237–244. https://doi.org/10.17245%2Fjdapm.2016.16.4.237

2. Mayor-Subirana, G., Yagüe-García, J., Valmaseda-Castellón, E., Arnabat-Domínguez, J., Berini-Aytés, L., & Gay-Escoda, C. (2014). Anesthetic efficacy of Oraqix® versus Hurricaine® and placebo for pain control during non-surgical periodontal treatment. Medicina Oral, Patologia Oral y Cirugia Bucal, 19(2), e192–201. https://doi.org/10.4317/medoral.19202

3. Daneshkazemi, A., Abrisham, S. M., Daneshkazemi, P., & Davoudi, A. (2016). The efficacy of eutectic mixture of local anesthetics as a topical anesthetic agent used for dental procedures: A brief review. Anesthesia Essays and Researches, 10(3), 383–387. https://doi.org/10.4103/0259-1162.172342

4. Nayak, P. A., Nayak, U. A., & Khandelwal, V. (2014). The effect of xylitol on dental caries and oral flora. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dentistry, 6, 89–94. https://doi.org/10.2147/CCIDE.S55761

5. https://www.pccarx.com/Blog?Tag=pharmacy-compounding-for-dental-issues

Thank you to the Partnership for Personalized Prescriptions for the content of this blog.

Visit and support their website at www.p3rx.org

About the Partnership for Personalized Prescriptions

P3 is a subsidiary of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding. APC is the voice for pharmacy compounding, representing compounding pharmacists and technicians in both 503A and 503B settings, as well as prescribers, educators, researchers, suppliers, and patients.

In traditional compounding, pharmacists create a customized medication, most often from pure ingredients, for an individual patient pursuant to a prescription. Pharmacists’ ability to compound medications from pure ingredients is authorized in federal law and for good reason: Manufactured drugs don’t come in strengths and dosage forms that are right for everyone, and prescribers need to be able to prescribe customized medications when, in their judgment, a manufactured drug is not the best course of therapy for a human or animal patient.

Every day, APC members play a critical role in patients’ lives, preparing essential, custom medications for a range of health conditions, including autism, oncology, dermatology, ophthalmology, pediatrics, women’s health, animal health, and others.

To learn more, go to A4PC.org or compounding.com.