As numbers of patients administered opioids has been on the rise for the better part of a decade, the Pennsylvania departments of Drug and Alcohol Programs and Health released dental prescribing guidelines to address the use of opioids for the treatment of acute dental pain.
The guidelines have also been endorsed by the Pennsylvania Medical Society and the Pennsylvania Dental Association.
"Pennsylvania Dental Association understands that the issue of prescription drug abuse is a grave and growing concern among law enforcement, policymakers and the healthcare community and that initiatives must be undertaken to reduce the number of Pennsylvanians, especially our youth, who suffer from dependency of prescription drugs," Wade Newman, DDS, PDA President, said in a statement. "The dental profession is a committed stakeholder in educating the provider community and patients about the inherent dangers and risks associated with prescription drug abuse."
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