Addressing Prescription Opioid Misuse

By Romesh P. Nalliah, DDS, MHCM; Shernel Thomas, BS; Diane Rhee, PharmD, MHA; Sarah Bettag, BA; and Melanie Boyd, RDA

Prescription drug misuse—taking medication originally intended for therapeutic use in a manner other than prescribed—commonly takes the form of opioid, stimulant, and central nervous system depressant misuse.¹ For decades, prescription opioids have provided effective pain relief for patients following acute care, such as surgery (including dental surgery), yet in recent years, opioid abuse has become a major public health crisis. Reported rates of diagnosed abuse have tripled since 2006,²  and in 2017 the United States Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency.

* References can be found in the original article via the link below.
Read Article