CDA Essentials 2019 • Volume 6 • Issue 5

25 Issue 5 | 2019 | N ews and E vents I n the U.S., opioid prescriptions written by dentists have been identified as potentially significant contributors to the opioid crisis in that country. But a recent study 1 on dental opioid prescribing practices in Canada suggests prescriptions from dentists account for only a small proportion of all prescribed opioids. Researchers looked at opioid prescribing by dentists in Manitoba over a three-year period using data that captures all prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies. The results suggest that Manitoba dentists make a limited contribution to opioid overuse and misuse, based on two key measures:  Total number of opioid prescriptions dispensed: Dentists prescribed only 3.8% of all dispensed prescriptions although they represent approximately 14% of licensed providers able to prescribe opioids.  MMEs: Only 0.58% of the total MMEs dispensed in the province were prescribed by dentists (MMEs refers to milligram morphine equivalents, a standardized measure of morphine that can be used to convert doses from one type of opioid to another). OPIOID PRESCRIBING by Dentists in Manitoba is Low