CDA Essentials 2018 • Volume 6 • Issue 1

CDA at W ork 13 Issue 1 | 2019 | NewCannabis Resource for Dentists “Although cannabis is unlikely to play a role in patient management from a dental perspective at the current time, the number of patients using cannabis is steadily increasing,” says Dr. Donaldson. “So oral health care practitioners need to understand and be able to manage patients who use cannabis for both recreational and medical purposes.” “It is up to oral health care practitioners to learn about the pharmacology and current state of cannabis use in medicine since the impact of this drug has specific consequences on oral pathology, drug interactions and oral health care,” adds Dr. Donaldson. The timing of this resource being made available to Canadian dentists is fortuitous, according to Dr. Aaron Burry, CDA director of professional affairs. “This is an amazing resource for practitioners as Canada embarks on one of its biggest social experiments with the recent legalization of cannabis,” says Dr. Burry. The resource provides encapsulated information about the latest science on medicinal issues related to cannabis use. Dr. Burry notes the variability of cannabis products which makes it difficult to assess a general effect. “Unlike other types of medication, where the exact dose equates to what the product will do, dentists will have to deal with a variety of products in the marketplace along with an individual’s response to the drugs also being different.” On these points, Dr. Burry cites the composition of the products, how it’s ingested, and whether a patient is a habitual or occasional cannabis user. Visit CDA Oasis to access this cannabis resource, generously offered by Dr. Donaldson to Canadian practitioners. A long-time and valued contributor to CDA Oasis, Dr. Donaldson is associate principal for Vizient Pharmacy Advisory Solutions. He is also a clinical professor in the department of pharmacy at the University of Montana and clinical associate professor in the school of dentistry at the Oregon Health & Science University and the faculty of dentistry at the University of British Columbia . a A new comprehensive online resource about cannabis is now available for dentists on the CDA Oasis website. Developed and shared by Dr. Mark Donaldson, a clinical professor of pharmacology, the resource defines cannabis; examines the pharmacological derivatives that are currently and may be produced from cannabis in the future; and looks at the possible uses of cannabis to treat some medical conditions. The resource contains extensive clinical and pharmacological content and comes with questions and additional resources for dentists to test their knowledge on the subject. Visit CDA Oasis for the online cannabis resource wp.me/p2Lv6A-6gy