Unintentional overdose of analgesia secondary to acute dental pain

Paracetamol overdose as a result of dental pain requiring medical treatment – two case reports

“…The second of the patients presented was not registered with a dentist at all, which raises intriguing issues in these turbu lent times of diminishing numbers of NHS dentists and the nationwide prob lem of access to dental care. It may be that both these patients were unaware of the risks of excessive paracetamol con sumption, something shown in previous papers, 3 making guidance from health care professionals paramount.…”

Medications Prescribed in Emergency Departments for Nontraumatic Dental Condition Visits in the United States

“…9–11 Dodd and Graham published three case reports on inappropriate and unintentional overdose in the prescription of analgesics for dental pain in EDs in the United Kingdom. 12 In our study, we examined patient characteristics, trends and factors associated with prescribing analgesics and antibiotics in EDs for NTDC visits within the United States.…”

Prevalence of over-the-counter drug-related overdoses at Accident and Emergency departments in Northern Ireland - a retrospective evaluation

“…Accidental overdose with drugs in general, and OTC products in particular, may occur for a number of reasons: misunderstanding the recommended dose (especially for children); frequency or length of therapy; use of an incorrect measuring device (9); use of sustained release drugs without an appropriate increase in dosing interval (10); using a combination of medicines which unknowingly contain the same active ingredient (11). People's belief that ‘ more might be better ’ is an important factor in many cases of accidental overdose with medicinal products (12, 13). Doctors do not often enquire about OTC medication use, and parents (or other carers) often do not perceive OTC products as medications (9, 14).…”