For many teens, the battle with opioid addiction starts with wisdom teeth
A study suggests dentists are over-prescribing the drugs.
By Neel V. Patel Yesterday at 6:00pm
Does a teenager really need a 30-day prescription of Vicodin to cope with dental work?
Five million people have their wisdom teeth removed each year. Those patients are predominantly young adults and teenagers feeling those third molars crowding their way into the corners of their mouths, causing pain and creating a potential for other periodontal problems. Many of those patients will go under the knife for a bit and leave their dentist’s or oral surgeon’s office afterward with a prescription of painkillers in hand. But that simple prescription might turn out to be more risky than the wisdom teeth themselves.
In a new study published in JAMA on Monday, researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco found that among around 15,000 patients aged 16 to 25 who received opioids from their dentists, almost 7 percent went back to a healthcare provider for additional opioids between 3 and 12 months later. Nearly 6 percent were diagnosed with opioid abuse within one year after the initial prescription. In contrast, only 0.4 percent of patients who were not prescribed dental opioids were later diagnosed with opioid abuse.
https://www.popsci.com/dental-surgery-adolescent-opioids
