Is it Time to Relegate Routine Opioid Prescriptions to the Oral Surgery Archives?

The end of the 1970s ushered in what became an accepted standard of care for most of medicine and dentistry, including oral and maxillofacial surgery: Hydrocodone with acetaminophen was introduced as Vicodin (Knoll Pharmaceutical Company, Whippany, NJ) in 1978 and rapidly embraced by providers to treat all types of pain. Curiously, centuries-old concerns about opioid addiction were largely set aside, and hydrocodone-acetaminophen combinations became the most-prescribed drugs in the US by the early 2000s and remain in the top ten.
Source: Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery - Category: ENT & OMF Authors: Source Type: research