Sir, dexamethasone has recently been in the news as a potential treatment for COVID-19 and the severe immune response, which is believed to cause a lot of the more severe medical problems experienced by patients acutely ill from the disease.

Has this medication perhaps got a dental use also which may have been valuable during this crisis when access to urgent dental care was limited? I remember attending an endodontic course including lectures from renowned endodontist, Julian Webber. He was a strong advocate for the use of oral dexamethasone for controlling pulpitis when operative care wasn't immediately available, a treatment option which has evidence to back it.1

What could have perhaps been very useful was access to dexamethasone via the dental formulary to help treat many of the patients suffering with pulpitis for which the principle of AAA probably did little to relieve their severe pain in the absence of dental treatment. If deemed acceptable by the necessary experts could it be adapted more widely as an additional medication we can supply in NHS primary care?