During the height of the opioid epidemic, dentists and oral surgeons remain among the top prescribers of opioids for young people between the ages of 10-19, an age group inclined to abuse drugs and develop addictions. Consequently, it is important to understand how dental schools prepare these students for pain management, particularly as it relates to the potential for substance abuse.
This research project is a collaboration with the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) to survey dental education programs in the US on curricular and clinical protocol content related to substance use disorders, including screening, intervention, and referral, in order to better understand the extent to which new oral health providers are prepared to address substance use among patient populations.