The Journal of the American Dental Association
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Multicenter Study
Dental patients' self-reports of xerostomia and associated risk factors.
Most studies regarding xerostomia focus on elderly people. Therefore, the authors conducted a study of dental patients 18 years or older to determine the prevalence of self-reported xerostomia and associated risk factors. ⋯ Clinicians should interview their patients carefully regarding their use of medications and provide proper oral health care to improve xerostomia resulting from medication use.
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Opioids are analgesics that have potential for misuse, abuse or addiction. Up to an estimated 23 percent of prescribed doses are used nonmedically. As prescribers of 12 percent of immediate-release (IR) opioids in the United States, dentists can minimize the potential for misuse or abuse. ⋯ Dentists cannot assume that their prescribing of opioids does not affect the opioid abuse problem in the United States. The authors suggest that dentists, along with other prescribers, take steps to identify problems and minimize prescription opioid abuse through greater prescriber and patient education; use of peer-reviewed recommendations for analgesia; and, when indicated, the tailoring of the appropriate and legitimate prescribing of opioids to adequately treat pain. Practice Implications. The authors encourage dentists to incorporate practical safeguards when prescribing opioids, consistently educate patients about how to secure unused opioids properly, screen patients for substance use disorders and develop a referral network for the treatment of substance use disorders.
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Comparative Study
Wisconsin Medicaid enrollees' recurrent use of emergency departments and physicians' offices for treatment of nontraumatic dental conditions.
Medicaid enrollees experience a number of barriers that prevent them from seeking care in dental offices, leading some to repeatedly seek treatment for nontraumatic dental conditions (NTDCs) in emergency departments (EDs) and physicians' offices (POs). The authors examined the rate of return visits to EDs and POs for treatment of NTDCs among Wisconsin Medicaid enrollees and sought to characterize frequent and typical users of such care in this population. ⋯ Improved access to dental care for Medicaid enrollees that is best managed by dental care providers should reduce the rates of recurrent NTDC-related visits to EDs and POs.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
The pulpal anesthetic efficacy of articaine versus lidocaine in dentistry: a meta-analysis.
The authors evaluated published evidence from controlled clinical trials regarding the efficacy of two local anesthetic solutions in providing successful pulpal anesthesia. ⋯ Research evidence supports using articaine versus lidocaine for achieving pulpal anesthesia when the infiltration mode of administration is used. It is premature to recommend articaine for mandibular block anesthesia in cases involving irreversible pulpitis.