I recently was prescribed tramadol for dental pain and my pharmacist told me that its a class 4 control substance. i thought it was a non-narcotic. which is true?

It is an opioid-like: Drug. It was originally developed and marketed as being a non-addictive alternative to narcotic pain medication. Like many drugs that have come before it, tramadol functions like traditional narcotics, and can be habit-forming when abused. However, becoming addicted to post-operative pain medication is rare, so long as you are taking the medicine as prescribed.

Class IV some states: Tramadol is not a federally controlled substance but has been listed as a class IV controlled substance in some states. It does not have the same addictive potential as narcotic meds since it and its metabolite work as a centrally acting analgesic primarily on the mu-receptors. While a very effective analgesic, it's not recommended by the manufacturer as a substitute for the narcotic addict.

Tramadol: If it was non-narcotic -generally it wouldn't require a prescription and it would be available over the counter- it is a centrally acting opiod analgesic.

Narcotic: Tramadol (marketed as Ultram, and as generics) is an opioid pain medication which is used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. While classified as a non-narcotic, Tramadol is, indeed, a narcotic. And, it shares many of the side- effects seen in narcotic drugs, like heroin.