Course Description
Opioid abuse and deaths from overdose have reached epidemic levels in the United States. This drug class causes significant systemic changes and carry a high risk for tolerance, dependence, and addiction. Dental providers who have the authority to prescribe opioids own a responsibility to the public to ensure appropriate pain management protocols are followed so patients do not run the risk of developing a debilitating addiction. This course will present commonly abused opioids and statistics, the pharmacodynamics of non-narcotic and narcotic opioids analgesics, as well as pain origin and management related to dentistry.
Course Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, the dental practitioner will be able to:
- Apply the origin of orofacial pain to appropriate pain management practices.
- Describe the pharmacodynamics (effects and mechanism of action) of non-narcotic and narcotic opioid drug class.
- Recognize their responsibility and contribution to opioid abuse and misuse and apply proper pain management techniques to help decrease the opioid epidemic in America.
