Self‐medication practices for managing tooth pain amongst patients attending oral surgery clinics

Abstract

Aim and objectives 1 To assess the prevalence of self‐medication practices for tooth pain amongst patients seeking dental care in the Oral Surgery Department. 2 To identify reasons for self‐medication. 3 To assess the awareness of the side effects and contra indications of the drugs used for self‐medication. Material and methods 300 patients over the age of 14 years attending the out patient clinic of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinics complaining of tooth pain were given a questionnaire containing 18 questions pertaining to the practice of self medication. Results 59% of the respondents in the study reported self medication for tooth pain and almost 86% of these individuals obtained pain relief. However only a very few were aware of the dosage, side effects and contra indications of these medicines. Conclusion Self medication is desirable when used responsibly. Hence modifications in self medication practices, such as, patient education, display of basic drug information on the drug packages, and stringent and uniform international laws regarding drug dispensing will optimize the present health care system.

Toothache and self-medication practices: A study of patients attending a niger delta tertiary hospital in nigeria

“…This high figure is to be expected as there are only few dental clinics in this environment and the distances to them are far for the majority of the populace. [ 19 ] The peak age category obtained in this study is similar to previous hospital-based reports[ 10 12 ] but differs from those of Kikwilu et al . [ 20 ] that was based on adult patients embarking on emergency dental consultation.…”

“…The prevalence of 80.6% obtained is higher than previous reports on a similar study. [ 10 12 18 ] The higher figure obtained in the present survey may be because the study was restricted to patients’ that presented with the only toothache to the clinic unlike the other reports that were based on dental patients whether with or without toothache. This high figure is to be expected as there are only few dental clinics in this environment and the distances to them are far for the majority of the populace.…”

“…Even though the practice is on the increase, there is a paucity of data on the impact of this behavior on the people, and few studies that have been carried out showed harmful effects on the dentition. [ 10 12 ] In developing countries, it has been observed that several factors such as poverty, cultural perception of certain diseases, and their perceived responses to indigenous medications have been reported as reasons making the practice a necessity. [ 5 6 ]…”

Self-medication for oral health problems among adults attending the University Dental Hospital, Sharjah

“…Acute pain represents one of the most frequent complaints encountered by primary care physicians 13 . However, many patients are not aware of the various contraindications and side effects of these medications 14 …”

Self-Medication for Toothache and its Associated Factors in Children and Adolescents

“…Since it is a process characterized by painful symptoms, analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs are most commonly used by patients presenting with toothache, in order to avoid or postpone visits to the dentist [15,16]. In schoolchildren, parent/caregiver anxiety and fear of dental care may be the leading reasons for the practice of self-medication for toothache [17][18][19].…”