Multi-institutional retrospective study on opioid prescribing patterns of oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

Background: The opioid epidemic is a serious crisis in the United States. It has been proposed that opioid prescriptions after dental procedures are a major contributor to opioid use and abuse. The American Dental Association has been working to educate dental care providers about safe opioid prescribing practices. The authors hypothesized that oral and maxillofacial surgeons, following the efforts and publications from the American Dental Association, have been prescribing fewer postoperative opioids.

Methods: This was a multi-institutional retrospective study with a total of 3,710 patients from Loma Linda University and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston undergoing ambulatory surgical tooth extraction under general anesthesia or sedation. The total quantity of postoperative opioids (ie, morphine milligram equivalents) was analyzed during the following 2 periods: from 2011 through 2016 and from 2017 through 2021.

Results: The amount of opioids prescribed decreased significantly over time at both study institutions across all demographic characteristics and cohorts. The mean (SD) morphine milligram equivalents prescribed per patient was significantly reduced from 143.01 (71.08) in the 2011 through 2016 period to 72.09 (55.40) in the 2017 through 2021 period (P < .001).

Conclusions: The data suggested that there has been a significant decrease in the amount of opioids prescribed after ambulatory oral surgery procedures during the 10-year study period. This provides evidence that dental care providers have responded to the opioid crisis.

Practical implications: By means of identifying opioid prescribing patterns, the authors presented an opportunity to help inform interventions and policies that promote responsible prescribing, enhance patient safety, and support optimal pain management.