Differences in medication usage of dental patients by age, gender, race/ethnicity and insurance status.

BACKGROUND

Limited studies have investigated the medication profile of young adult dental patients despite the high prevalence of prescription opioid abuse in this population.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the extent and differences in medication usage of dental patients older than 18 years by age, race/ethnicity, gender, insurance status and mechanism of action in an academic dental clinic setting.

METHODS

Using an automated approach, medication names in the electronic dental record were retrieved and classified according to the National Drug Code directory. Descriptive statistics, multivariable ANOVA and Post hoc tests were performed to detect differences in the number of medications by patient demographics.

RESULTS

Of the 11,220 adult patients, 53 percent reported taking at least one medication with significant differences in medication usage by demographics. Hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (21-36%), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (19-23%) ranked the top two medication classes among patients 55 years and older. Opioid agonists (7-14%), and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) (5-12%) ranked the top two medication classes among patients aged 18-54 years.

CONCLUSIONS

The results underscore the importance of dental providers to review medical and medication histories of patients regardless of their age to avoid adverse events and to determine patient's risk for opioid abuse.