Minimising drug interaction risks: Colgate webinar to discuss patient assessment in dental prescribing

The webinar will be presented by Dr Mark Donaldson, a clinical pharmacist specialising in dental pharmacology. He serves as associate principal for pharmacy advisory solutions at US healthcare organisation Vizient and holds academic appointments at universities in the US and Canada.
In this interactive webinar, he will discuss common drug interactions, their management in dental practice and the role of patient assessment in safe prescribing.

Dr Donaldson told Dental Tribune International that dentists prescribe less than 10% of all available drugs, but their patients may be taking medications from the much wider range of drugs prescribed or recommended in other areas of healthcare. Polypharmacy is common, making a careful medication history central to safe prescribing. As he put it: “How can you be confident that the prescription you write is compatible with what your patient is currently taking?”

The webinar will outline how to identify potential drug interactions and highlight strategies to prevent or manage them. Key topics will include the use of reliable sources for assessing prescription medicines, over-the-counter products, supplements and herbal therapies. The presentation will also cover the fundamentals of drug metabolism and how it contributes to interaction risk. According to Dr Donaldson, participants will also learn how certain disease states can increase or inhibit drug metabolism and contribute to interaction risk.

The webinar, titled “ ‘Money makes the world go around, but drugs can make it spin!’—Patient assessment and drug interactions”, will take place on 8 July at 8 p.m. EDT. Registration is free of charge. Participants can obtain one continuing education credit after completing a post-webinar quiz. More information can be found at www.colgateoralhealthnetwork.com.