The opioid epidemic is affecting countless lives and communities across the country, including here in Hawaii. While opioids are extremely beneficial when combating pain, they come with a high risk of misuse and addiction. This is especially true for teens and young adults, in part because adolescent brains are not fully matured and are therefore more susceptible to the effects of opioids.
Let’s talk about one potentially overlooked aspect of the opioid epidemic — its connection to oral health. The following is some information to consider:
• What’s the connection between opioid addiction and wisdom teeth? More than 5 million people had their wisdom teeth removed last year, mostly teens and young adults. While the decision to remove wisdom teeth should involve professional advice from a dentist or oral surgeon, patients and parents also should be aware of the risks associated with potential exposure to opioids following this procedure. For many young people, wisdom teeth extraction often represents their first exposure to opioids, and a recent study from Stanford University found that teens can end up in a battle with opioid addiction following this procedure.
• Is there a safe dosage of opioids to manage pain? Other than in extreme cases, it’s important to limit prescriptions for the minimum appropriate dosage and number of days, which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends at three days and fewer than 50 morphine milligram equivalents per day. This is because the likelihood for chronic opioid use increases after the third day of use and rises rapidly thereafter and can lead to addiction to more-powerful illicit drugs.
• What are some alternative pain medications? If you or a loved one is prescribed an opioid following a dental procedure or another medical event, it is a good idea to ask your health care professional if there are alternatives, including over-the-counter pain relievers such as a combination of acetaminophen and ibuprofen. In many cases, these medications can be equally effective in pain management, without the risk of addiction.
• What’s the proper way to dispose of opioids? Approximately 70 percent of misused opioid prescriptions were obtained, stolen or purchased from a friend or relative, according to the CDC. That’s why it’s important to keep opioids in a safe place — like a locked cabinet — and always properly dispose of unused medications. That can include returning the drugs to your pharmacy, or mixing them with water and an unappealing substance, such as cat litter, and putting in the trash (if simply thrown in the trash, unused prescription drugs can be retrieved and misused).
• What’s being done to educate parents and health professionals? In collaboration with Shaterproof, a national nonprofit confronting the opioid epidemic, UnitedHealthcare is now airing public service announcements on television and radio across the country to help parents and health professionals understand the connection between oral health and the opioid epidemic.
For more information about oral health and the opioid epidemic, visit https://newsroom.uhc.com/opoids.html.
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Dr. Ronald Fujimoto is chief medical officer, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Hawaii.
