Responsibilities and Requirements of Prescribing Schedule II Opioid Drugs

This lecture course will be a live webinar offered through Zoom, which enables you to participate from anywhere in the country. This live interactive webinar will count towards in-person instructional hours per the Dental Board of California. However, this may vary for license renewal in other states. It is the responsibility of each participant to verify the requirements of his/her state licensing board. As of January 1, 2023, dentists are required to successfully complete two units of continuing education on opioid prescribing as a condition of license renewal with the Dental Board of California. This live webinar satisfies the license renewal requirement. Narcotics can provide substantial pain relief and when used judiciously, on a case-by-case basis, can be a valuable tool. You will first learn about the inflammatory, neurological and psychological processes that contribute to the great range of pain responses your patients encounter. This foundational knowledge will feed a discussion of preoperative, perioperative and postoperative approaches for more effective pain management, which when used together can prevent a need for narcotics in most cases. But there are times when you will prescribe narcotics. Dr. Young will explain how narcotics work and how they compare to each other and to other forms of pain control, in addition to dosing, how dependence and addiction occur and how that differs by age and by psychological make-up. He will also cover the controlled substances prescribing laws, and how to recognize and address addiction and drug-seeking behavior.