“WHAT ROLE DO DENTAL PRESCRIPTIONS PLAY IN THE OPIOID CRISIS?”

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 47,000 individuals died in 2017 due to an opioid overdose. Further, dentists are more likely to prescribe immediate-release opioids than other healthcare providers. In the late 1990s, dentists were responsible for 15.5% of prescriptions for immediate-release opioids, and 8% of these prescriptions in 2009. In this thesis I examine the reasons for this, including the ways in which a patient’s sex, age, race, and ethnicity play a role in dental prescriptions, and conclude that dentists do not consistently use the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMPs) or the guidelines set by the American Dental Association. I argue that to help to prevent opioid misuse and abuse dentists should do a risk assessment before prescribing opioids.