With the nation’s first opioid lawsuit by a state (Oklahoma) against big pharma underway last week and expected to last through the summer, even more light is being cast on the country’s growing opioid epidemic.
The American Dental Association is doing its part to educate and equip dentists in a variety of ways. On June 19, the ADA is hosting a webinar on opioid use disorder and how dentists can help prevent patients from developing it. Perhaps most importantly, participants will also learn how to treat acute dental-related pain without using opioids.
The webinar, titled "Dentists’ Role in Addressing the Opioid Crisis," will take place from 3-4 p.m. EST, and is part of the ADA’s Opioid Webinar series. The webinar is free and participants are eligible for one hour of continuing education through ADA CERP.
The webinar will feature two speakers: Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, M.D., director of the American Institutes for Research Center for Multi-System Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic; and Dr. Paul Moore, D.M.D., professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.
Dr. Salisbury-Afshar will describe the evolving opioid crisis in the United States, including a brief history of how we got here. She will describe the clinical diagnosis of opioid use disorder (addiction), the three medications that are used to treat opioid use disorder and the clinical implications for dentists.
Dr. Moore will speak about the role dentists can play in preventing the development of opioid use disorder among opioid-naïve patients, how to treat acute dental-related pain without using opioids, and other clinical tools relevant to opioid prescribing in dental practice.
By the end of the webinar, participating dental professionals will be able to:
- Describe the three waves of the opioid epidemic in the United States
- Explain the clinical diagnosis of opioid use disorder
- List the three medications that are Food and Drug Administration-approved to treat opioid use disorder
- Understand how to treat patients that are on medication-assisted treatment
ADA members can register for the webinar at https://tinyurl.com/ADAcourse.
