Dr. Joel Funari from Devon is among the growing number of dentists ditching pain relief opioids during routine procedures, writes Elana Gordon for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

From this year, to help reduce dependency on instant pain relief and the potential for creating a long term addiction, Pennsylvania is requiring all new dentists and those renewing their clinical license to get official training in the best practices of prescribing opioids.

Funari, who specializes in oral and maxillofacial surgery, said that when he started working, it was common practice to prescribe a bottle of 30 or even more narcotic pills after procedures. Today, he feels that is excessive.

“Dentists don’t like to see patients in pain,” said Funari. “We tend to be compassionate people, and I think we were falling into a trap we were creating ourselves.”

Three years ago, Funari joined a group tasked with developing prescribing guidelines for dentists by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. He and his colleagues soon realized that there is a better way to help with standard dental pain.

“Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, the Motrins, the Advils, the Aleves, when used in a certain way, are very effective,” said Funari. “More effective than the narcotics.”

Read more about the changing practices in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.