Abstract
Introduction: Evidence suggests that U.S. dentists prescribe opioids excessively. There are limited national data on recent trends in opioid prescriptions by U.S. dentists. In this study, we examined trends in opioid prescribing by general dentists and dental specialists in the U.S. from 2012 to 2019. Methods: Dispensed prescriptions for oral opioid analgesics written by dentists were identified from IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Data from January 2012 through December 2019. Autoregressive integrated moving average and joinpoint regression models described monthly population-based prescribing rates (prescriptions/100,000 individuals), dentist-based prescribing rates (prescriptions/1,000 dentists), and opioid dosages (mean daily morphine milligram equivalents/day). All analyses were performed in 2020. Results: Over the 8 years, dentists prescribed >87.2 million opioid prescriptions. Population- and dentist-based prescribing rates declined monthly by −1.97 prescriptions/100,000 individuals (95% CI= −9.98, −0.97) and −39.12 prescriptions/1,000 dentists (95% CI= −58.63, −17.65), respectively. Opioid dosages declined monthly by −0.08 morphine milligram equivalents/day (95% CI= −0.13, −0.04). Joinpoint regression identified 4 timepoints (February 2016, May 2017, December 2018, and March 2019) at which monthly prescribing rate trends were often decreasing in greater magnitude than those in the previous time segment. Conclusions: Following national trends, dentists became more conservative in prescribing opioids. A greater magnitude of decline occurred post 2016 following the implementation of strategies aimed to further regulate opioid prescribing. Understanding the factors that influence prescribing trends can aid in development of tailored resources to encourage and support a conservative approach by dentists, to prescribing opioids.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3-12 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | American Journal of Preventive Medicine |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2022 |
Funding
Connie H. Yan reports current employment with AbbVie Inc. at the time of submission. Colin C. Hubbard reports receiving support from grants from Pfizer outside the submitted work. Gregory S. Calip discloses employment with Flatiron Health, which is an independent subsidiary of the Roche group; stock ownership in Roche; and research grants from Pfizer unrelated to this study. No other financial disclosures were reported. Research reported was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under Grant R01 HS25177 (Principal Investigator: KJS). The content presented is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. government, IQVIA, or any of its affiliated entities. The statements, findings, conclusions, views, and opinions contained and expressed in this study are based in part on data obtained under license from IQVIA: Longitudinal Prescription January 2012 to December 2019, IQVIA, Inc. The study sponsor had no role in the design or conduct of the study; data collection, management, analysis, or interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or appraisal of the manuscript; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Research reported was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under Grant R01 HS25177 (Principal Investigator: KJS). This work was presented in part at the International Society of Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research Annual Meeting, held virtually in May 2021. Connie H. Yan reports current employment with AbbVie Inc. at the time of submission. Colin C. Hubbard reports receiving support from grants from Pfizer outside the submitted work. Gregory S. Calip discloses employment with Flatiron Health, which is an independent subsidiary of the Roche group; stock ownership in Roche; and research grants from Pfizer unrelated to this study. No other financial disclosures were reported. Connie H. Yan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft. Todd A. Lee: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Writing - Review and Editing. Lisa K. Sharp: Conceptualization, Supervision, Validation, Writing - Review and Editing. Colin C. Hubbard: Methodology, Data curation, Resources, Writing - Review and Editing. Charlesnika T. Evans: Conceptualization, Validation, Writing - Review and Editing. Gregory S. Calip: Conceptualization, Validation, Writing - Review and Editing. Susan A. Rowan: Validation, Writing - Review and Editing. Jessina C. McGregor: Validation, Writing - Review and Editing. Walid F. Gellad: Validation, Writing - Review and Editing. Katie J. Suda: Conceptualization, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Validation, Writing - Review and Editing.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Epidemiology