Pharmacology
Title
Americans use of legal psychiatric and illicit drugs.
Description
This course will dive into the U.S. market of legal psychiatric prescription drugs and illicit drug abuse. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 20% of the United States population suffers from a mental health illness and 15% utilize prescription medications in their disease management. This population is also at higher risk for abusing illicit drugs as a form of self-medicating. The oral health care provider needs to stay current on these medications and their side effects to safely administer treatment. The pharmacology, mechanism of action, side effects, and use of prescription psychiatric medications with a brief overview of the mental illness they are designed to treat will be discussed. Illicit drug statistics, mechanisms of action, side effects, and abuse potential are presented with a focus on the opioid crisis and legalization of marijuana.
Educational Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, the oral health care provider will be able to:
List prescription psychiatric medication and illicit drug statistics in the U.S.
Differentiate between varying mental disorders based on the latest DSM diagnostic criteria.
Understand the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and mechanisms of action of prescription psychiatric medications and illicit drugs.
Incorporate a risk management protocol for your dental office related to scheduled drugs.
Title
America on Drugs.
Description
This course will provide the dental team with a practical approach to learning more about their patient’s prescription drug use. Prescription drug sales is a multi-billion industry in the U.S., accounting for 11% of the overall U.S. health care expenditures. This course will present the most prescribed, and most profitable, prescription medications in the U.S. market. The oral health care provider is likely to encounter patients each day who are taking these medications for a variety of conditions. Through reviewing the systemic and oral side effects, pharmacology, and the mechanism of action of these medications, alongside the conditions they are designed to treat, the provider will increase their confidence in patient treatment.
Educational Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, the oral health care provider will be able to:
List the most commonly prescribed and most profitable medications on the U.S. market.
Understand prescription national trends as related to healthcare expenditures.
Recognize the potential systemic and oral side effects of prescription medications.
Understand varying medication’s pharmacology and mechanisms of action related to the conditions they are used to treat.
Title
A Dental Providers Drug Reference for the U.S. Opioid Epidemic.
Description
Opioid abuse and deaths from overdose have reached epidemic levels in the United States. This drug class causes significant systemic changes and carry a high risk for tolerance, dependence, and addiction. Dental providers who have the authority to prescribe opioids own a responsibility to the public to ensure appropriate pain management protocols are followed so patients do not run the risk of developing a debilitating addiction. This course will present commonly abused opioids and statistics, the pharmacodynamics of non-narcotic and narcotic opioids analgesics, as well as pain origin and management related to dentistry.
Educational Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, the oral health care provider will be able to:
Apply the origin of orofacial pain to appropriate pain management practices.
Describe the pharmacodynamics (effects and mechanism of action) of non-narcotic and narcotic opioid drug class.
Recognize their responsibility and contribution to opioid abuse and misuse and apply proper pain management techniques to help decrease the opioid epidemic in America.