General Dental Informtion

Dexamethasone ampoule for toothache

dentistry with dexamethasone ampoule for toothache in hand

Alleviating toothaches with oral sedatives is recommended. The sedative injections, however, are administered to reduce the severe and moderate pains. Although these injections are able to alleviate pain, they have side effects which make their prescription risky. Later in this article, you will learn more information about the injectable sedatives and painkiller injections for toothache.

Dexamethasone ampoule

Dexamethasone ampoule is one of the common prescriptions to reduce toothache. Dexamethasone is not a sedative, but it only reduces the pain through suppressing inflammation. Administering Dexamethasone to relieve toothache is never the first option of dentists; instead they usually prescribe non-steroid drugs including ibuprofen. It is necessary to remember that although dexamethasone is able to reduce pain seriously, it has side effects, which make its usage doubtful. The most important side effect of this drug is osteoporosis, however, dentists try to minimize the effect as much as possible through prescribing low doses of dexamethasone for toothache.

dexamethasone 3.3 mg ampoule box for toothache

Dexamethasone 3.3 mg

Thus, if your dentist has prescribed dexamethasone for you don’t worry anymore, but if you have osteoporosis problems you should let them know. In this case, your dentist or orthodontist would ignore completely prescribing this drug for you.

Dexamethasone ampoule for dental infection

Dexamethasone is not used to treat infection. When infection occurs, our body sends an inflammatory response to the infected section which makes it inflamed and swollen; while dexamethasone is a sort of corticosteroid which slows down the inflammation process and reduces its intensity. For this reason, in the case of dental infection you need to visit a dentist and start to use antibiotics as soon as possible

Dexamethasone ampoule for toothache caused by endodontic therapy

Usually following the endodontic therapy, dentists prescribe dexamethasone injection to relieve toothache. It is a very normal prescription, because the toothache caused by endodontic therapy cannot be relieved with any sort of sedatives. For this reason, administering this injection for the toothache in such cases is very normal and most dentists and orthodontists prescribe it.

It is necessary to remember that dexamethasone after endodontic therapy must be injected by the dentists. In some cases, dentists may avoid injecting dexamethasone to reduce their patients’ ache. For example, if their patient is pregnant, they would avoid injecting dexamethasone. Since dexamethasone is among drugs which must be consumed very carefully, dentists deny it as a useful medicine for their patients.

Dexamethasone ampoule after wisdom tooth removal surgery

The surgery of the wisdom tooth or the third molar tooth is a common surgery in which the wisdom tooth is removed. The surgery is followed with severe pain after the surgery completion. Therefore, dentists try to control this pain using strong painkillers. Injecting dexamethasone is a way to reduce a patient’s pain after wisdom tooth removal. Relying on its anti-inflammatory feature and also its ability to suppress the immune system of patients, dexamethasone would be very effective in calming down the patient’s pain caused by wisdom tooth removal.

dexamethasone ampoule 20 mg sodium phosphate

Dexamethasone ampoule 20 mg sodium phosphate

Dexamethasone ampoule for children

Dexamethasone would have destructive effects on children’s growth. The medicine would inhibit growth and cause osteoporosis in adulthood; so, in most cases dexamethasone is not prescribed for children. Moreover, it would have been followed by severe consequences for children, because dexamethasone suppresses the immune system, which in turn fuels the side effects in children with the suppressed immune system.

Important points about using dexamethasone ampoule for treating toothache

Since dexamethasone can increase the blood glucose level, the Doping Control Test result would be positive for people who had injected dexamethasone in order to only calm down their toothache. While dexamethasone is an over-the-counter (OTC) drug and you can buy them directly from any drugstore, you are recommended to avoid it, even to relieve the severe pains, because using dexamethasone reduces pains for a short time, but brings about serious side effects in your mouth, which in turn, exacerbate your dental diseases and disorders over time.

Injecting dexamethasone to treat toothache is recommended only under the supervision of your dentist. If you have certain allergies and vulnerabilities, please avoid it. Arbitrary usage of dexamethasone to get rid of toothache would be followed by serious consequences. Although dexamethasone would reduce your ache for a short time, for longtime it defers the actual diagnosis of the pain cause, which in turn would lead to more complications and hefty expenses to treat them. Please keep in mind that using this medicine to kill toothache also weakens the body’s immune system against other diseases and makes you vulnerable against other diseases and problems.

Side effects of dexamethasone ampoule

In a long time, dexamethasone would cause osteoporosis and would inhibit growth in children. But these are only some of the complications of this medicine. Hence, it must be prescribed by a doctor/dentist after they are informed about your medical condition. Dexamethasone would cause a range of side effects including:

  • Nausea
  •  Vomit
  • Abdominal problems
  • Edema
  • Headache
  • Feeling dizzy
  • Mood swings including depression, mood changes or personality changes
  • Insomnia
  • Stress and anxiety
  • Decreased potassium level of blood (which causes symptoms like fatigue)
  • Increased glucose level
  • Hypertension

In general, the only advantage of administering dexamethasone for toothache is killing pain, while you need to recognize the cause and do the necessary measures to treat it completely. Addressing oral and dental diseases and problems would lead to less pain and less costs, if it occurs on time and without any delay.

Other ampoule sedatives for toothache

Apart from dexamethasone injection, there are other sedatives for the toothache which would be prescribed by dentists depending on the patient’s condition and their pain intensity. The most important medicines of this category are ketorolac, betamethasone and piroxicam.

Ketorolac ampoule to relieve toothache

The sedative injections are used to relieve severe and moderate pains. Ketorolac injection is definitely one of the most important and prevalent sedative injections. This non-steroid painkiller cannot be prescribed for a long time and mostly is administered for the severe pains including pains caused by surgeries. Ketorolac injection is a member of a family whose other members are ibuprofen and naproxen. Ketorolac injection often is used in craniofacial and dental surgeries.

Ketorolac, aka ketorex, painlok, toradol, torapain, pemrolac, ketorin, ketrofal, is a sort of strong and non-steroid sedative. Ketorolac is injected intravenously or intramuscularly and reduces the pain through blocking arrival of certain materials to the inflamed and painful sections. At the discretion of the dentist, the drug would be prescribed to reduce severe toothache. However, the drug is not used to kill the chronic and old toothaches, because its usage would be followed by side effects including edema, hypertension, purpura, dermal rashes, stomatitis, nausea, indigestion, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, dyspepsia, vomit, headache, sleepiness, dizziness, pain and bruise around the injection site. Ketorolac is much stronger than dexamethasone and is used to relieve severe pains.

Betamethasone ampoule to calm down toothache

Betamethasone is another member of the corticosteroids family which, like dexamethasone, has anti-inflammatory properties. In comparison to dexamethasone, its effect intensity is lower and may cause fewer side effects. However, the effect of its arbitrary and long-term consumption on osteoporosis cannot be ignored. Betamethasone blocks secretion of materials that cause inflammation and hence reduces the pain.

Piroxicam ampoule to reduce toothache

Piroxicam is another sedative prescribed to kill toothache. Although piroxicam is used to treat arthritis and severe muscular pains, because of its very trivial side effects, it would be prescribed for the dental and jaw pains, as well. It is considered as a sort of sedative with anti-inflammatory properties, so it has different doses. Depending on the patient’s condition, the best dose is prescribed by the physician/dentist in order to minimize its potential side effects.

FAQ about dexamethasone ampoule for toothache

1- If my dentist prescribed dexamethasone for me, I need to inject it anyway, even when I have no toothache?

The dentist’s discretion and diagnosis must be prioritized to anything else. Medicines are prescribed according to your general and special condition and must be consumed according to the physician’s instruction. Therefore, you are recommended to consult your dentist, but if you have no pain, given the side effects of dexamethasone, it is better to avoid it.

2- In the case of dental infections, which one must be used: Amoxicillin or Dexamethasone?

In the case of the creation of infection symptoms in your teeth and gum, the first action is visiting a dentist. No medicine is suggested without a dentist’s discretion.

3- If dexamethasone is not injected after wisdom tooth removal surgery, more pain would be experienced?

Following wisdom tooth removal, dexamethasone often is prescribed, if a patient suffers from a severe pain. If dexamethasone is not prescribed, instead other sedative medicines, depending on the patient’s condition, would be prescribed. The pain caused by wisdom tooth removal surgery, anyway, usually does not last more than a few days, but if the pain remains for a week or more, you need to visit your dentist for more examinations.

4- Is dexamethasone useful to treat dental abscess?

No, Do not forget that dexamethasone is only administered to reduce pain and inflammation and has no therapeutic advantage. For more examination and proper treatment you need to visit a dentist.

5- Is dexamethasone prescribed after implant surgery?

As a painkiller, dexamethasone would be prescribed after any kind of dentistry therapeutic or plastic operation. At the discretion of the dentist in charge it would be determined whether the patient needs dexamethasone.

Dr Abdolreza Jamilian Orthodontist

About Dr Abdolreza Jamilian Orthodontist

Dr. Jamilian, an orthodontist, has a specialized fellowship in orthodontic surgery and maxillofacial abnormalities and is a professor in the orthodontics department of the Dentistry School of the Islamic Azad University. He is member of Iranian and European Board of Orthodontics (EBO) and is a member of the Iranian, American and European Orthodontists Association.

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