1930s techniques

Abstract

Sir, we have reviewed the paper on opioids use in the UK and US by Tayara and Ahmed (BDJ 2021; 230: 159-164) and wish to offer the following comments. The cohorts from the three dental schools were small and dissimilar and the results difficult to interpret. No acknowledgement is made of how the cohorts were identified to avoid selection bias and whether the institutions involved approved the survey. No mention is made of the number of opioid pills prescribed, nor of the adjunctive strategies that might have been used in addition for pain control.Our chief concern is that the authors have made little attempt to view their results in any type of context. They do not account for the dramatic differences between their study (two-fold difference) and the JAMA report (37-fold difference). 1 In 2016, the Governor of Massachusetts initiated a Working Group to curb the opioid crisis by involving State officials, faculty from the three Boston Dental Schools and a student group. 2 Massachusetts General Hospital OMFS Department reduced their average prescription for third molar extractions from 20 to eight pills per patient without decrease in patient satisfaction or increases in post-operative visits or telephone calls. 3 Another group analysed data from 118 New England OMFS for several officebased surgical procedures and respondents indicated they typically prescribed 8-12 opioid tablets, suggesting fewer tablets were prescribed in academic than in private settings. 4 Tufts University School of Dental Medicine have sponsored CE activities for many years, recently publishing a Dental Clinics of North America issue on opioid