San Antonio, TX: A single oral dose of plant-derived CBD provides short-term relief from acute dental pain, according to randomized, placebo-controlled trial data published in the Journal of Dental Research.
Investigators affiliated with the University of Texas at San Antonio assessed the efficacy of CBD (in the form of Epidiolex) versus placebo in a cohort of 61 patients with severe dental pain. Subjects received a dose of either 10 mg, 20 mg, or placebo CBD. A visual analog scale assessed patients’ pain levels before and after treatment.
Researchers reported, “Both CBD groups resulted in significant VAS pain reduction compared to their baseline and the placebo group, with a maximum median VAS pain reduction of 73 percent from baseline pain at the 180-min time point.” Side-effects associated with CBD were “minimal.”
Authors concluded: “This randomized trial provides the first clinical evidence that oral CBD can be an effective and safe analgesic for dental pain. … This novel study can catalyze the use of CBD as an alternative analgesic to opioids for acute inflammatory pain conditions, which could ultimately help to address the opioid epidemic.”
Epidiolex is a proprietary CBD product derived from cannabis plants manufactured by the British biotechnology firm GW Pharmaceuticals. The FDA approved it in 2018 as a prescription-only treatment for rare seizure disorders. The DEA descheduled it in April 2020.
Full text of the study, “Cannabidiol as an alternative analgesic for acute dental pain,” appears in theJournal of Dental Research.