Cannabinoids and Orofacial Pain Management: A Review

Objective: The purpose of this review was to present general data of cannabinoids, its function related to orofacial pain management, and its adverse effects. Methods: The data was searched through PubMed database and Google Scholars by various keywords without time limits. Hand searching and citation mining were also applied. Unpublished, incomplete, non-English data were excluded. Results: The presence of cannabinoids receptors throughout orofacial tissues has been reported, which could be a therapeutic site of action. Only in neuropathic pain, cannabinoids have been proven to be successful over conventional treatment. More clinical approvals of its analgesic effects are extremely required for pain originating from other tissues. When prescribing cannabis, dentists should be cautious about its adverse effects in many systems. Conclusion: Currently, cannabinoids have not been officially endorsed for analgesic effects in orofacial area. It can be useful for neuropathic orofacial pain especially when the standard treatment was unsuccessful.