A Pharmacist’s Role in a Dental Clinic: Establishing a Collaborative and Interprofessional Education Site

Abstract

Background: Dental patients often have comorbidities and take multiple medications, some of which could impact their dental health and treatment. A pharmacist in a dental clinic can assist with the gathering, documentation and evaluation of a dental patient’s medication history as it pertains to their dental visit and overall health. 
 Purpose: To develop and implement a collaborative and interprofessional education program with a pharmacist providing services in a dental school clinic. 
 Summary: Creighton University School of Dentistry, a student-operated dental clinic located in Omaha, Nebraska, provides dental care by student dentists, faculty and staff to the surrounding community in a learning-focused environment. A pharmacist was incorporated into the dental clinic to create and establish an interprofessional relationship with both dental students and faculty beginning August 2014. Pharmacy students on an ambulatory care advanced pharmacy practice experience rotation were eventually added to the team. The pharmacy team provided medication therapy management services including disease state and medication counseling, medication reconciliation, identifying drug-related problems and dental implications of medications, and recommendations for prescribed medications. 
 Conclusion: The pharmacy team’s presence was largely accepted by dental faculty, staff, dental students, and patients. Pharmacists can play an important role in a dental clinic by performing thorough health and medication histories and communicating with dental and medical providers involved in a patient’s care. 
 

Incorporating Oral Health Considerations for Medication Management in Care Transitions

“…The University of North Carolina (UNC) Adams School of Dentistry (ASOD) has sought to better address these barriers within its practice clinics through clinical partnerships with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy (ESOP) to offer clinical pharmacy services as it has identified patients in North Carolina who come from 74 out of the 100 counties that are dental provider shortage areas, and 59 of these counties are primary care and behavioral health shortage areas as well [2]. Pharmacists contribute significantly to patient outcomes in health care environments and have also begun to explore models in dental practice [26][27][28][29][30][31].…”

An environmental scan of pharmacists supporting pre‐doctoral dental education institutions

“…Pharmacists collaborate with dentists in a variety of ways, many of which fall outside the traditional dispensing role of the pharmacist. A review of the literature has identified pharmacists in academic dental practice settings providing medication reconciliation services, antimicrobial stewardship, assisting in appropriate opioid prescribing, facilitating interprofessional education, didactic lecture, and smoking cessation counseling 1–13 . Choi et al.…”

“…A review of the literature has identified pharmacists in academic dental practice settings providing medication reconciliation services, antimicrobial stewardship, assisting in appropriate opioid prescribing, facilitating interprofessional education, didactic lecture, and smoking cessation counseling. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Choi et al described pharmacists having a positive impact on improving the accuracy of patient medications in the dental record. 1 Gross described an antibiotic stewardship effort between dentists, pharmacists, and physicians in an academic dental practice that resulted in a decrease in antibiotic prescribing.…”

A Pharmacist’s Role in a Dental Clinic: Establishing a Collaborative and Interprofessional Education Site

“…Overall, pharmacists were accepted by the dentistry team and patients with very few repercussions. 1 The purpose of this commentary is to propose a solution towards multiple issues identified by the author during her experience as an interprofessional pharmacist. We propose telehealth to be the solution to these issues.…”

“…Overall, pharmacists were accepted by the dentistry team and patients with very few repercussions. 1 …”