Advanced Non-Opioid Pain Management
in Loudoun County

Managing discomfort after oral surgery is an important part of the recovery process. At Davary & Smith Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, patients benefit from modern pain management techniques designed to control post-surgical discomfort while minimizing reliance on opioid medications. Dr. Ashkan Davary, a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon through the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS), and Dr. Christopher Smith provide advanced surgical care supported by modern anesthesia and pain-control strategies for patients throughout Loudoun County and Northern Virginia.As dual-degree oral and maxillofacial surgeons trained in both medicine and dentistry, Dr. Davary and Dr. Smith incorporate evidence-based pain management approaches into every surgical treatment plan. Because every procedure is different, post-operative pain management strategies are carefully tailored based on the type of surgery being performed, the patient’s medical history, and the expected recovery process.

One option used in many oral surgery procedures is EXPAREL®, a long-acting local anesthetic that can provide targeted pain relief directly at the surgical site. This medication is administered during surgery and slowly releases anesthetic medication over time, helping control discomfort during the critical first days of recovery.EXPAREL® may provide pain relief for up to 72 hours following surgery, reducing the need for additional prescription pain medication. By delivering anesthetic directly to the surgical area, the medication works locally while minimizing the systemic side effects sometimes associated with traditional pain medications.

Dr. Davary and Dr. Smith may incorporate JOURNAVX® (suzetrigine) — the first new class of non-opioid pain medicine approved by the FDA in more than 20 years. Introduced in January 2025 for moderate-to-severe acute pain, JOURNAVX® gives the surgical team another way to control post-operative discomfort without reaching for a narcotic prescription.

Unlike opioids, which act on the brain, JOURNAVX® works closer to the source of pain — selectively blocking the NaV1.8 pain signal in the peripheral nerves before it travels to the brain. Because it does not produce the euphoric effects linked to opioids, it is not a controlled substance and carries no recognized risk of dependence or addiction.

This matters most to thefamilies the practice sees every day. Parents of teenagers facing wisdom teethremoval often worry about sending a young person home with narcotics — and Dr.Davary and Dr. Smith share that priority. By combining long-acting anestheticssuch as EXPAREL® with non-opioid medications like JOURNAVX® and amultimodal recovery approach, the surgical team helps younger patients healcomfortably while avoiding opioids whenever possible.

"Our goal is for patients to heal comfortably without going home on narcotics they don't need — and medications like JOURNAVX® and EXPAREL® let us control pain right at the source." — Dr. Ashkan Davary