Monday, February 6, 2017

BLAZING EPIDEMIC—PRESCRIPTION OPIOID ABUSE

Here are some terrifying statistics from the U.S. Surgeon General’s first official report on addiction: more than 20 million people in our country have substance abuse disorders. Only one in ten will receive appropriate treatment. The report states “all health care professionals can play a role in addressing substance misuse and use disorders through prevention strategies and health care services.”

A personal aside—since 2010 I have volunteered as a mentor, teacher, driver, worker, confidant, friend, Christian counselor, even a cook at times, for participants in a substance abuse recovery program. In this capacity, I have known scores of individuals I would never have met otherwise—an amazing enrichment and privilege in my life. These people come from all walks of life with all levels of experience—business owners, RNs and other health care providers, teachers, veterans, bosses and day laborers, n’er-do-wells and solid citizens, rich and poor, young and old, various faiths or none at all. I share this to say I have witnessed firsthand the horror of addiction, and I applaud any and all efforts to stem the tide of addiction that is threatening to drown our country. Many addicts I have known admit that they became ensnared when they first received a prescription of opioids for pain relief, including dental pain.

For at least the past five years, organized dentistry has been actively working to promote awareness of the dangers of misuse of opioids, one of the most radical and frequent forms of substance abuse. The American Dental Association, along with 88 other health organizations led by the American Osteopathic Association, has petitioned Congress for maximum funding for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), passed with bipartisan efforts and signed into law in July 2016. Under this new law, prescribers are authorized to write partial-fill prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances. Additionally, the law includes grants to increase health care providers’ pain management training and to enhance prescription drug monitoring programs.

The CARA opens the way for maximum funding for prevention and treatment of this epidemic of opioid misuse and related disorders. The combination of CARA and the Surgeon General’s report issued in November 2016 has raised the general public’s view of opioid and other substance addictions as a chronic disease rather than a moral weakness or failure. The dental profession can be proud of leading the way on this change in perception that will allow opioid and other substance abuse illnesses to be treated as the diseases they are.

In the fall 2016, the ADA House of Delegates issued a statement on the Use of Opioids in the Treatment of Dental Pain that includes a plea for dentists to “follow and continually review the Centers for Disease Control and State Licensing Boards’ recommendations for safe opioid prescribing.”  With increased awareness, continuous training, and determination, dentists can rightfully remain on the leading edge of fighting this major epidemic threatening our country.


For more information on opioid prescribing, training sessions, webinars, etc., go to www.ADA.org/opioids.

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