American Dental Association announces opioid policy

Pills and capsules in medical vial

The American Dental Association has adopted a policy supporting certain statutory limits on opioid dosage and duration and mandatory continuing education in prescribing opioids and other controlled substances.

The policy also supports dentists using prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) and improving state PDMPs to make them more interoperable. The president of the ADA, Joseph Crowley, said the new policy demonstrates ADA’s commitment to help fight the country’s opioid epidemic while continuing to help patients manage dental pain.