In a study published online by Journal of the American Medical Association, Brian T. Bateman, M.D., M.Sc., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues examined nationwide patterns of opioid prescribing following surgical tooth extraction.

Opioid abuse has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, and often begins with a prescription for a pain medication. Dentists are among the leading prescribers of opioid analgesics, and surgical tooth extraction is one of the most frequently performed dental procedures. Surveys suggest that dental practitioners commonly prescribe opioids following this procedure, despite evidence that a combination of nonsteroidal medications and acetaminophen may provide more effective treatment for postextraction pain.

The researchers collected data from a national database of health claims drawn from Medicaid transactions for the years 2000-2010. All patients who underwent surgical dental extraction were included. The frequency of opioid prescriptions filled within 7 days of extraction was determined, as was the nature and amount of opioids dispensed.

The analysis included 2,757,273 patients. Within 7 days of extraction, 42% of patients filled a prescription for an opioid medication. The most commonly dispensed opioid was hydrocodone (78% of all prescriptions), followed by oxycodone (15%), propoxyphene (3.5%), and codeine (1.6%). Patients age 14 to 17 years had the highest proportion who filled opioid prescriptions (61%), followed by patients age 18 to 24 years.

There was great variability in the amount of opioids dispensed for a given procedure, with an approximately 3-fold difference between the 10th and 90th percentile in the oral morphine equivalents prescribed. “Although a limited supply of opioids may be required for some patients following tooth extraction, these data suggest that disproportionally large amounts of opioids are frequently prescribed given the expected intensity and duration of postextraction pain, particularly as nonopioid analgesics may be more effective in this setting,” the authors write.

“This common dental procedure may represent an important area of excessive opioid prescribing in the United States. As the nation implements programs to reduce excessive prescribing of opioid medications, it will be important to include dental care in these approaches.”

Note: Research reported in this publication was supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health. All authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest and none were reported.

Source: The JAMA Network. https://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/high-percentage-of-patients-prescribed-opioids-following-tooth-extraction/

Disclaimer: Aegis Publications and Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to dentalaegis.com.

CHICAGO, April 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD), and the Special Care Dentistry Association (SCDA) this week urged our nation's legislators to restore the position of chief dental officer with executive-level authority and resources to oversee the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) dental programs and oral health initiatives. Leaders from these four organizations convened on Capitol Hill to advocate that good oral health is an essential public health need, and the agency's current staffing structure fails to adequately support individuals across the country.

"HRSA needs the strong voice of a dentist to inform and lead our country's oral health agenda," said AGD President W. Mark Donald, DDS, MAGD. "Without this leader, the health of more than 3 million people served through HRSA programs, including many of the most vulnerable and underserved, is being left at risk, managed by administrators without formal training in oral health and dentistry. A dentist in the chief dental officer role would be able to draw from his or her practice expertise and clinical knowledge to best identify our country's oral health challenges, develop solutions in response, and ensure that each dollar spent is done so in a way that will result in better oral health outcomes."

The chief dental officer position was established in 2008; however, the role has never been granted a separate budget or line-item authority like similar appointments in agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Indian Health Services, or National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

Donald was joined by SCDA Vice President Jeffrey Hicks, DDS; AAPHD Executive Director Julie Frantsve-Hawley, RDH, Ph.D.; and AADR Director of Governmental Affairs Carolyn Mullen.

Disclaimer: Aegis Publications and Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to dentalaegis.com.

BOSTON, MA - CAP, provider of end-to-end solutions for dental laboratories, declared May 2016 as the inaugural Zirconia Awareness Month to fight the scourge of misinformation about zirconia in the market.

"The types of zirconia that are on the market are constantly proliferating and changing," says Bob Cohen, President of CAP. "Many of our partner labs contact us to make sense of these new and different products, so we're responding with a host of educational initiatives that we've set up for this month."

While education has always been core to the CAP mission to help laboratories thrive, this special focus on zirconia consists of a variety of tools, such as videos, blogs, webinars, and eBooks.

"Our educational focus this month will be on selecting the right zirconia, mill, sintering furnace, tools, and how to achieve best-in-class post-processing - the entire end-to-end process to produce a superior result that doctors and patients alike will love," Cohen says.

To take advantage of this complimentary education, laboratories can join CAP's contact list at https://cap-us.com/sign-up/.