Dental Guideline on Prescribing Opioids for Acute Pain Management
Developed by the Dr. Robert Bree Collaborative and Washington State Agency Medical Directors’ Group in collaboration with actively practicing dentists and public stakeholders, the final Dental Guideline on Prescribing Opioids for Acute Pain Management was released in September 2017.
From the Guideline: "This guideline was developed in collaboration with a broad advisory group of the state’s academic leaders, pain experts, and dentists in general care and specialty areas in response to the growing epidemic of opioid‐related overdoses and supplements the Agency Medical Director’s Group (AMDG) Interagency Guideline on Prescribing Opioids for Pain. The guideline is based on the best available clinical and scientific evidence from the literature and a consensus of expert opinion.
This is an easy‐to‐use reference to help dentists, oral surgeons, and others follow a set of clinical recommendations and access supporting evidence and resources in the appendices to align opioid prescribing with current evidence. We recommend revising office‐prescribing practices as necessary to be consistent with this guideline, the American Dental Association (ADA) statement, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline. We also recommend considering the feasibility of embedding key practices from these guidelines into electronic health record systems. Lastly, we recommend educating office staff and patients about the risks and benefits of opioids, individualizing pain management strategies for each patient’s clinical situation, and avoiding “just in case” prescribing." "
