Systematic Review

Management of acute oral pain using methoxyflurane: a systematic review

¹ Department of Oral Surgery, Nantes University, University Hospital of Nantes, 1 place Alexis Ricordeau, 44000 Nantes, France
² Department of Oral Surgery Department, University Hospital of Brest, 2 avenue Foch, 29000 Brest, France

^* Correspondence: meriaux.oceane@hotmail.fr

Received: 10 July 2024
Accepted: 4 November 2024

Abstract

Aims: Acute oral pain is a leading cause of presentations to emergency care. Methoxyflurane (MTXF) is a halogen gas with significant analgesic properties at low doses. MTXF administration was reported for dental pain with controversial results. The safety and simplicity of using a recently approved hand-held inhaler represent encouraging evidence for its application for dental pain. Thus, a systematic review was conducted with the following objectives: to determine the efficacy of MTXF in the management of acute dental pain, and to highlight the most effective procedure. Methods: This literature review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) methodology. Results: Overall, 62 publications were identified, from which 5 articles were selected for this work. The overall quality of the included studies was low with a fairly high risk of bias. In the vast majority of studies, the level of pain experienced by patients using MTXF was low to very low. However, in some circumstances, injection of an additional local anesthetic was required for complete pain relief. The occurrence of adverse effects was low. Conclusion: All of the publications highlighted the promising properties of inhaled MTXF at low doses for acute dental pain relief.