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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