How the Georgia Dental Association is fighting the opioid crisis

The Georgia Dental Association is promoting safe disposal of unused prescription medications and raising awareness to fight the national opioid crisis as 'national prescription drug take back day' nears, according to an Oct. 23 news release. 

The GDA is a constituent of the American Dental Association, which has mandated limits on opioid prescriptions. Over a five-year period, the number of opioid prescriptions written by dentists has decreased by almost 500,000 since the mandate.

In 2018, GDA launched its 'Prescribe with Care' initiative that works to ensure opioids are prescribed appropriately, according to Evis Babo, DDS, GDA president.

GDA efforts include establishing continuing education requirements as part of dental licensure renewal, serving on opioid task forces with state legislators and other stakeholders, developing programs about new opioid prescriber requirements, and offering patient-friendly resources to help dentists inform the public about opioid abuse and non-opioid alternatives.

The GDA urges its 3,500 dentist members to use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for acute pain management.

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