Safe prescribing and medication management in dentistry

Dentists frequently encounter patients with complex medical conditions taking multiple medications, and as such, prescribing and medication management are skills required in daily clinical practice. However, research has shown that medication and prescribing errors are common, and also occur in dentistry1. Errors occur for various reasons, such as inappropriate choice of medication, incorrect dosing, lack of medication knowledge, and inappropriate management of patients taking their current medications. In addition, dentists have relatively high rates of unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics and opioids2,3. This course will provide a structured and comprehensive outline of the skills required to be a competent prescriber, the prescribing process, and consideration of the legalities of prescribing. Detailed information on how to appropriately prescribe common drugs, including antimicrobials, pain relief and anxiolytics will be included. There will be a focus on prescribing errors, how they occur, and how to avoid them in dental clinical practice.

Learning outcomes

Other topics include oral adverse drug reactions, prescribing for paediatrics, and managing patients taking drugs that can affect dental procedures, such as those associated with increased risk of bleeding, medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw, diabetic drugs and immunosuppression. Understanding how to tailor and individualise prescribing to ensure correct dosing and choosing appropriate medicines especially for specific patient groups, such as younger patients and patients with various co-morbidities, will also be covered. This one day seminar will provide a comprehensive course on how to prescribe safely and manage patients taking medications in dental practice. 1Teoh et al, Preventing medication errors in dental practice – an Australian perspective. J Dentistry 2022 Apr:119:104086. doi: 10.1016/j.jdent.2022.104086 2Teoh, L., Marino, R.J., Stewart, K. et al. A survey of prescribing practices by general dentists in Australia. BMC Oral Health 19, 193 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-019-0882-6 3 Teoh, L., Hollingworth, S., Marino, R. et al. Dental opioid prescribing rates after the up-scheduling of codeine in Australia. Sci Rep 10, 8463 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65390-6

Speaker

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