Overuse of non-prescription analgesics by dental clinic patients

Abstract

Background: Many patients present to dental clinics for treatment of painful conditions. Prior to seeking treatment, many of these patients will self-medicate with non-prescription analgesics (NPA), and some will unintentionally overdose on these products. The objective of this study is to describe the use of NPA among dental patients.

Patient knowledge of the paracetamol content of over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics, cough/cold remedies and prescription medications

“…Approximately 6% of individuals reported exceeding the maximum recommended dose of paracetamol, although this was considerably lower than ibuprofen (approximately 22%) and naproxen (approximately 21%). In a US study of 127 patients in a dental clinic, 12.6% reported supratherapeutic use of one or more non-prescription analgesics 14. This is particularly important as our clinical experience is that paracetamol poisoning related to unintentional repeated supratherapeutic ingestion is particularly common in patients with dental pain.…”

Dental pain as a risk factor for accidental acetaminophen overdose: a case-control study

“…[7] One prior study found that nonprescription analgesics are frequently overused by patients with dental pain. [8] However, this study did not compare the rate of overuse for dental conditions relative to overuse from other causes.…”

Salicylate-induced degeneration of cochlea spiral ganglion neurons-apoptosis signaling

“…Degeneration of SGN neurites occurs with salicylate concentrations similar to those found in the cerebral spinal fluid of rats with behavioral evidence of tinnitus (Jastreboff et al, 1986). Given aspirin’s widespread use (Green, 2001, Heard et al, 2008) and its putative contribution to the encephalopathy associated with childhood Reye’s syndrome (Larsen, 1997, Lemberg et al, 2009) there is substantial interest in determining whether the high doses of SS that induce tinnitus and hearing loss also lead to SGN degeneration. As a starting point for addressing this question, we applied SS to immature, postnatal cochlear organotypic cultures and evaluated the morphological changes and changes in apoptosis gene expression at 3, 6 and 12 h post-treatment.…”