Dental Compounding

Why Customized Dental Medications

No two mouths are alike, and no two patients experience or tolerate the same amount of pain during or after dental work. A variety of solutions are available that fall outside the realm of products produced by major drug companies, but can easily be created through compounding. Formulated in our state-of-the-art compounding lab in Tampa, Florida, our tailored solutions help dentists, periodontists, oral surgeons and their patients solve specific medication problems. We work with dental professionals in creating customized solutions to meet the unique needs of unique patients.

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With a prescription from a dentist, we compound:

• Lip balms for viral lesions
• Transdermal (topically applied) muscle relaxants and analgesics
• Topical anesthetics
• Non-staining antibacterial rinses
• Oral sedation in lollipops and popsicles
• Lollipops for oral thrush
• Mouth rinses for aphthous ulcers or chemotherapy-induced stomatitis, or for the prevention of oral bleeding following scaling or extractions in patients who take anticoagulants
• Dry socket preparations
• Mucosal bandages to cover ulcerated, infected, or tender mucosa
• Lozenges that help in the prevention of gagging
• And many more unique preparations and novel delivery systems to meet the unique dental needs of patients

Featured Compound

Unique Dental Needs

Particularly prevalent with dental medications, stability concerns and the cost of stocking and distributing the numerous formulations of each drug, medications are often manufactured in limited numbers of strengths and dosage forms. These limited varieties are designed and chosen to meet the needs of most patients, but not all.

Using pharmaceutical grade chemicals and specialized equipment not found in most pharmacies, at Davis Islands Pharmacy we compound medications in doses and forms that are not commercially available, but may be most appropriate for many patients. In this way, we’re able to optimize the care of every patient – regardless of their unique needs and circumstances.

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Customized Compounded Medications Offer Advantages to Dental Patients Including:

• Best Strength: We compound medications that contain just the right dose to treat the problem, without causing unnecessary risk or side effects. The right strength can eliminate the need to break or crush tablets, or to take multiple capsules when a combination solution is available.

• Appropriate Dosage Form: We prepare necessary medications in the best dosage form or using the best base to treat specific dental problems. As an example, lollipops are ideal for keeping antibiotic or anti-fungal medications in contact with an infected area in the mouth.

• Care-free Convenience: Oftentimes patients are prescribed multiple medications, which can be inconvenient and costly. We are able to compound multiple medications into a special and convenient preparation like a mouthwash that contains the prescribed concentrations of each drug. As a result of being easier to use, many dentists find improvement in compliance to treatment plans – a major problem facing dental professionals.

• Flavored to Please: In our compounding lab, we are able to flavor medications to make them more patient friendly. Let’s face it: dental medication often tastes bad, and patients don’t particularly love taking it. Many children don’t like the flavor of their antibiotics, and compounding provides a solution: flavored medications that taste like banana, watermelon, root beer – or whatever their preference may be. Perhaps patients don’t like sweet, candy-like flavors: coffee might be a better tasting.

• Limited Reactions Due to Ingredients: Sugar, preservatives, dyes, gluten, alcohol, or lactose – these ingredients are often found in elixirs, syrups, and suspensions that can cause reactions or gastrointestinal irritation, or issues for diabetic patient patients after prolonged use. With compounding, we can create medications with the necessary active ingredients and eliminate unnecessary exipients to provide sugar-free, dye-free, lactose-free, gluten-free, and preservative-free variations.

• Unavailable or Difficult to Find: Sometimes medications your patients need may be temporarily unavailable, difficult to find, or no longer produced by pharmaceutical companies due to low demand. Compounding is a way in which we can create the needed medications in customized dosage forms, saving your patients the hassle and worry of having to search for something that may not exist.

Topical Therapy for Oral and Perioral Pain and Infections

There is an ever increasing number of agents available to help patients with oral and perioral pain problems. Such problems include neuropathies, neuromas, neuralgias and more. In increasing numbers, dentists are utilizing topical agents as part of the therapeutic protocol for painful orofacial neuropathy. Often not mass produced by drug companies, medication vehicles and bases have been developed that are capable of penetrating the mucosa and cutaneous tissues, transporting the active medication efficiently to the site of treatment.

In the dental world, topical medications offer a distinct advantage over broader, systemic administration for orofacial disorders due to their rapid onset and low side-effect profile. Topical intraoral medications used in the treatment of oral ulcerations and infections include certain antifungals, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), and corticosteroids. Compounded formulations of these drugs offer distinct advantages. Medicated lollipops, lozenges, and adhering powders can be more effective by increasing contact time with the mucosa.

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Treating Dry Mouth, Stomatitis, and Mucositis

One of the most frequently heard complaints as a result of radiation therapy of the head and neck is loss of saliva, also known medically as xerostomia. With loss of saliva can also come radiation-induced periodontal infection, dental caries, osteoradionecrosis, and poor digestion of carbohydrates. In our state-of-the-art compounding lab, Davis Islands Pharmacy creates sialogogues, or saliva stimulants, in customized dosage forms to help prevent or treat such problems.

Furthermore, when patients are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation, they can also experience interference with their ability to eat due to mouth tenderness and infections. These interferences can unfortunately result in malnutrition among such patients; a side-effect that is oftentimes preventable. At Davis Islands Pharmacy, we compound medications which frequently enable patients to enjoy eating again.

Suppressing the Gag Reflex

Dental procedures are frequently interrupted by a patient’s gag reflexes, leading to interference in the procedure and severe discomfort among patients. We compound a tablet patients can take just a few minutes before the procedure that is administered and retained intraorally and suppresses the gag reflex. These electrolyte tablets allow a mandibular block to be given with significantly greater ease, further reducing the patient’s gag reflex and making the procedure go much more smoothly.

Oftentimes patients have trouble maintaining oral hygiene due to their gag reflexes. With the prescription of the dentist, we can compound tablets for home use to help patients properly perform the procedures recommended by medical professionals. In the case of severe gaggers, patients may need to repeat a dose every 15 or 20 minutes, depending on the procedure. Aside from tablets, we can also compound the medication in the form of electrolyte lollipops, which is often preferred by patients and dentists.

Transdermal Anti-Emetics

Vomiting can significantly impede smooth dental procedures. Many oral surgeons have found topical application of anti-emetics to be particularly useful. We compound anti-emetics for dental surgeons in a gel formulation, providing rapid onset and offering an effective alternative to the traditional oral administration.

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Therapy for Temporo-Mandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ)

There are many ways compounded solutions help patients suffering from TMJ and jaw problems. When administered topically, NSAIDs like ketoprofen often result in much higher tissue levels beneath the application site when compared with oral administration. What’s more, patients experience fewer side effects such as gastrointestinal irritation.

In patients with temporo-mandibular disorders with concurrent temporo-mandibular joint capsulitis and disc displacement without reduction, iontophoretic delivery of dexamethsone and lidocaine have been shown effective at improving mandibular function.

Periodontal Therapy Medication

There are numerous ways compounded solutions help patients and periodontists with periodontal therapy. With compounding, a limitless number of active ingredients can be incorporated into mouthwashes, gels, troches, lollipops and more. As one example, we can compound antibiotics as a mouthwash, or added to an oral adhesive paste or plasticized gel for the treatment of periodontal disease. Using these formulations, the medication maintains contact with the tissue for a longer period of time, increasing its effectiveness.

Compounded Miracle Mouthwashes

Not all mouths are alike, but there’s only a limited variety of mouthwashes available on the shelves over-the-counter. There are many reasons why compounded dental mouthwashes or rinses provide advantages over commercially available dosage forms. Customized solutions can eliminate concerns like palatability; they can limit the alcohol content, and be made without dyes that can stain exposed mucosa.

We can also compound various preparations to treat burning mouth syndrome, along with anesthetic/analgesic and antibiotic/anti-infective mouthwashes.

At Davis Islands Pharmacy, we are dedicated to meeting the unique needs of dentists, periodontists and their patients. As problem-solving specialists, our compounding experts welcome your questions and the opportunity to serve your dental medication problems.