Experts Focus on Shifting Perspectives on Pain Management in Oral Surgery in New CME Outfitters Webcast
Dr. Mark Gold is joined by Dr. Omar Abubaker for a discussion on alternative pain management strategies for oral surgery pain with a focus on compassionate patient care and patient safety in this free online activity.
BETHESDA, Md., March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- CME Outfitters (CMEO), a leading accredited provider of continuing medical education, is excited to announce a new CME Snack, Shifting Perspectives on Pain Management in Oral Surgery, featuring expert faculty members Mark S. Gold, MD, and A. Omar Abubaker, DMD, PhD. This 20-minute online activity is part of a CME Outfitters and USF Health nationwide educational initiative to combat inappropriate use of opioids in the management of acute and chronic pain. The project, Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: A Call to Action to Save Our Communities, is supported by an educational grant from Johnson & Johnson.
In a survey of 1,015,116 opioid naïve patients undergoing surgery, total duration of opioid use was the strongest predictor of misuse and the greatest risk was for individuals in the 15-24 age group.(1) Young people aged 15-24 often get their first exposure to opioids with dental surgery. In a survey of randomly selected oral surgeons conducted by Dr. Abubaker and colleagues, the average number of opioid tablets prescribed was 20, with 22% prescribing more than 20 tablets, and 11% prescribing more than 30 tablets.(2) These risk factors ,combined with the current epidemic, has led many oral surgeons to believe that the old standards of depending on opioids as a first-line treatment should be a thing of the past. The number of opioid prescriptions written should decrease moving forward, as dental pain can often be managed without opioids.
As Chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry in Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Abubaker has led the implementation of new guidelines for prescribing after dental surgery procedures that minimize the use of opioids while meeting patients' pain needs.
"Dentists play an important role in the opioid epidemic through overprescribing – usually with good intentions – but we need to accept accountability for our role in the problem," stated Dr. Abubaker. "When managing dental pain, we must strike a balance between compassionate patient care by managing their pain and not suffering, and patient safety. It is a balance that is achievable."
In this free CME Snack, Dr. Gold and Dr. Abubaker share insights on alternative pain management strategies for oral pain with a focus on finding a balance between compassion for patient care and patient safety.
The CME Snack is certified for CME, AAFP Prescribed Credit, CPE, and ABIM MOC II credit. Dentist licensees are eligible for up to .5 contact hours of ADA credit. For more information on this activity, credit available, or to participate for free, click here.
To learn more about CME Outfitters & USF Health's initiative, Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: A Call to Action to Save Our Communities, click here.
For a complete list of upcoming and available activities from CME Outfitters, visit http://www.cmeoutfitters.com.
About CME Outfitters, LLC
CME Outfitters develops and distributes live, recorded and web-based, outcomes- and evidence-based educational activities to thousands of clinicians each year and offers expert accreditation and outcome services for non-accredited organizations. CME Outfitters focuses on delivering education to specialty audiences, with strong expertise in neuroscience, inflammatory, infectious, and autoimmune diseases, and cardiovascular disease. For a complete list of certified activities and more information, visit http://www.cmeoutfitters.com or call 877.CME.PROS (877.263.7767).
References
1. Brat GA, et al. BMJ. 2018;360:j5790.
2. Mutlu I, Abubaker AO, Laskin DM. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2013;71(9):1500-1503
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