SP-26 Beyond the Classical Pain Control: Local Analgesia and Pharmacological Synergism
CE Hours: 0.75
Description: Endodontics has achieved significant progress in both diagnostic procedures and therapeutic approaches. However, the pharmacological management of acute endodontic pain still relies heavily on conventional strategies, predominantly based on systemic monotherapy. Although many of these approaches are clinically effective, their inappropriate or excessive use has contributed to relevant public health issues, particularly due to the misuse and overprescription of certain drugs. In this context, an important question arises: where should the future of acute endodontic pain management be directed? While the development of new analgesic drugs remains a long and expensive process, more accessible short-term alternatives may be considered. These include the combination of existing pharmacological agents to achieve synergistic effects, as well as the design of advanced drug delivery systems aimed at modulating peripheral mechanisms of pain transmission.Multimodal analgesia, through the use of synergistic combinations, allows for a shift in prescription habits-offering enhanced analgesic efficacy, reduced side effects, and shorter treatment durations. Furthermore, the incorporation of hydrogels, nanomaterials, and polymeric scaffolds as carriers for localized, controlled drug release presents a promising alternative that may significantly reduce the need for systemic drug exposure. This lecture explores currently available multimodal analgesic strategies in endodontics and discusses emerging peripheral alternatives that target pain control directly at its source. Such innovations may represent a paradigm shift in how dental professionals approach pharmacological pain management, promoting more precise, efficient, and safer therapeutic protocols.
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize the peripheral and central mechanisms involved in the development of endodontic dental pain.
- Identify the principles to propose effective pharmacological combinations by analyzing multimodal strategies based on analgesic synergism.
- Identify emerging drug delivery systems as a strategy for the peripheral control of endodontic pain.
Key:
Complete
Next
Failed
Available
LockedDaniel Chavarria-Bolanos
Director
Endodontics Master Degree Program, University of Costa Rica
Dr. Daniel Chavarría-Bolaños, MSc, PhD, earned his Dentistry degree from the University of Costa Rica and completed his Master’s in Endodontics at San Luis Potosí University in Mexico. He later obtained a PhD in Engineering and Materials Science from San Luis Potosí University through a dual-degree program with the University of Liège in Belgium, where he also received a PhD in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
He is currently a Full Professor and Researcher at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Costa Rica, where he serves as Director of the Graduate Program in Dentistry and is the Founder and Head of the Master’s Program in Endodontics. Dr. Chavarría-Bolaños also teaches at the Orofacial Pain Clinic and is an Assistant Researcher at the National Laboratory of Nanotechnology, where he leads specific projects in biomaterials and pharmacological innovation.
A former President of the IADR Costa Rica Division and the current Vice President of the Costa Rica Academy of Endodontics, he has been actively involved in advancing the profession nationally and internationally. His research focuses on biomaterials, drug delivery systems, dental anesthesia, and pain management, and he has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals as well as contributed to several book chapters.
Disclosure(s): Zeyco: Speaker/Honoraria (includes speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness) (Ongoing)