Study Shows Young People Often Prescribed Opioids by Dentists

Nearly one-third of those who received prescriptions in 2015 got them from a dental office

Navigate to:

Study Shows Young People Often Prescribed Opioids by Dentists

A significant percentage of privately insured adolescents and young adults who were prescribed opioids in 2015 received those prescriptions from a dentist, according to a study published Dec. 3 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

About 31 percent of these patients—adolescents and young adults ages 16 to 25—received their opioid prescription from a dental provider. And among those who received a prescription from a dentist, nearly 6 percent were diagnosed with opioid use disorder within a year, according to the study.

The authors compared patients who received opioid prescriptions with a control group and found that exposure to opioids through a dental clinician was associated with more opioid misuse than among those who were not similarly exposed. Nearly 7 percent of those who had been prescribed opioids experienced some form of opioid misuse, compared with just 0.1 percent among the control group.

Widespread misuse of opioids affects millions of Americans every year. In 2017, 2 million people misused these medications for the first time.

An earlier JAMA study showed that dentists in 2009  were the main source of opioid prescriptions for patients ages 10 to 19. According to separate data from the American Dental Association, the percentage of opioid prescriptions written by dentists for all age groups declined from 1998 to 2012, from 15.5 percent to 6.4 percent. However, the rate of prescriptions for those ages 11 to 19 increased by two-thirds from 2010 to 2015, from 99.7 per 1,000 dental patients to 165.9 per 1,000.

Dentists frequently prescribe opioids to adolescents and young adults to ease the pain caused by third molar, or wisdom, tooth extractions. These findings, however, suggest that this initial exposure may be linked with subsequent opioid misuse.

Jane Koppelman is a research manager and Allison Corr is an officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ dental campaign.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Article

37 Scientists Pioneering the Future of Biomedical Research

Quick View
Article

Biomedical researchers are at the heart of nearly every medical advancement. From cutting-edge cancer treatments to breakthrough discoveries about emerging viruses, these scientists use creativity and ingenuity to explore new horizons in human health and medicine. And for nearly 40 years, The Pew Charitable Trusts has supported more than 1,000 early-career researchers committed to this work.

Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics

Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?