CE0931: Avoid Liability: Know Your Patient’s Medications and Their Impact on Dental Treatment

Harold L. Crossley, DDS, PhD

Course Description:

This program will be divided into two sections. The morning discussion includes the indications, contraindications, and side effects of the fifty most commonly prescribed medications. Ask yourself this question: Are there any medications used in my dental office that could adversely interact with drugs the patient is taking? These medications represent 30% of all prescription medications taken by your dental patients. Familiarity with these drugs will provide the dental practitioner with a better appreciation for the health profile of today’s dental patient.

The afternoon session provides information for controlling post-operative dental pain. When is it safe to discontinue aspirin in a patient? Is it safe to prescribe the NSAIDs in patients with cardiovascular disease or who have been prescribed ACE inhibitors? What are the indications and contraindications for the use of opiate analgesics? How can I combine local anesthetics with analgesics to minimize post-operative pain? These questions and more will be answered in this fast-paced, entertaining, and highly informative six hour lecture.

Course Objectives - As a result of attending this course, the participant should be able to:

• Identify the medications that could adversely interact with dental drugs
• Understand why your patient is taking their medications
• Determine what oral side effects may be caused by these drugs
• List the maximum doses for commonly prescribed pain medications
• Know when not to prescribe NSAIDs
• Combine medications to maximize their effects
• Describe the mechanism of action of the commonly prescribed analgesics
• Describe the indications and contraindications for opiate analgesics and local anesthetics

Instructor:

HAROLD L. CROSSLEY, DDS, PhD is a professor emeritus at the University of Maryland Dental School. A native of Rhode Island, Dr. Crossley received a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island in 1964. He later was awarded the Master of Science (1970) and Doctorate degrees (1972) in Pharmacology. The University of Maryland Dental School in Baltimore awarded Dr. Crossley the DDS degree in 1980. Since that time he has been the Director of Curriculum Innovation and Management, Director of Conjoint Sciences and Preclinical Studies and is currently the Director of Continuing Dental Education at the Dental School. The liaison between the classroom and his dental practice which he mentored on a part-time basis in the Dental School Intramural Faculty Practice produced a practical approach to understanding pharmacology of drugs used in the dental office. Dr. Crossley has co-authored a number of articles and four books dealing with a variety of topics within the field of pharmacology. Other areas of expertise include the pharmacology of street drugs and chemical dependency. He has been appointed to the Governor's Commission on Prescription Drug Abuse, serves on the Maryland State Dental Association's Well-Being Committee and was a member of the University Interdisciplinary Committee for Drug Abuse Education. He is an active member of Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honorary Dental Society, and the International College of Dentists. He has been a consultant for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies since 1974. Drawing on this unique background, Dr. Crossley has become nationally and internationally recognized as an expert on street drugs and chemical dependency as well as the clinical pharmacology of dental drugs.

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University of Washington is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider.	The University of Washington is an ACDE member.
ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.
University of Washington designates this activity for 7 continuing education credits.