Adrenergic regulation of capsaicin-sensitive neurons in dental pulp.

Alpha adrenergic agonists (e.g. vasoconstrictors) represent one of the most commonly used drug classes in dentistry.

Intrinsic regulation of CGRP release by dental pulp sympathetic fibers.

Neurotransmission from sympathetic and peptidergic afferent fibers participates in the regulation of pulpal blood flow (PBF) via opposing effects. In this study, we directly tested the hypothesis that activation of pulpal sympathetic terminals inhibits exocytosis of immunoreactive calcitonin gene-related peptide (iCGRP) from peptidergic afferents innervating bovine dental pulp. The results demonstrate that norepinephrine inhibits capsaicin-evoked iCGRP release.