Therapeutics in Dentistry

(General Principles)

Iyad Abou Rabii

DDS,OMFS,Mres,PhD
 Pharmacology Basics

• Indications
– The reasons for administering a
medication or performing a treatment
• Contra-indications
– A factor that prevents the use of a
medication or treatment (eg. Allergies)

2
 Pharmacology Basics
• Dose
– The amount of a drug to be administered
at one time
• Mechanism of Action
– How a drug works

3
 Pharmacology Basics

• Effects
– The desired result of administration of a
medication
• Side Effects
– Effects that are not desired and that occur
in addition to the desired therapeutic
effects

4
 Medication Names

• Chemical Name
– describes the drug’s chemical structure
• Generic Name
– reflects the chemical name, but in shorter
form

5
 Medication Names
• Trade Name
– the name the manufacturer uses to market
the drug
• Official Name
– the name used in the Pharmocopoeia

6
 Routes

• Enteral tract routes

• Parenteral routes
Comparison of Enteral vs.
Parenteral Routes
 Enteral Routes
• Oral (PO)
• Orogastric/nasogastric (OG/NG)
• Sublingual (SL)
• Buccal
• Rectal (PR)
 Parenteral Routes
• Sublingual injection
Topical
• Intradermal (IC)
Intracardiac
• Intranasal
Intraosseous
• Subcutaneous (SC)
Inhalational
• Intramuscular (IM)
Umbilical
• Intravenous (IV)
Vaginal
• Endotracheal (ET)
Pulpal
 r t a nt
I m p o
Very fo!
In

No single method of drug

administration is ideal for all
drugs in all circumstances
 The Medication Order
(Prescription)
• Medication desired
• Dose desired
• Administration route
• Administration rate
Before any Drug
prescription
• Discuss with patient the possible
consequences (god and bad)
• Prescribe drugs you know
• Keep updated (BNF, Vidal…
others)
• Dose: consider age, physiology,
and pathology
• Drug interactions
 Prescribing
• The Dentist is legally responsible for
the signed prescription
• Prescription should be indelible, dated,
with full name and address of the
patient
• Age of patient should be mentioned
when under 12.
• Use generic drugs when possible
 Prescribing

• Don`t use abbreviations for the drug

names.
• Define the quantity supplied
• Directions should be in English with no
use of the abbreviations
 Prescribing
• When writing the dose
– Quantities of one gram is wrriten (1 g)
– Less than 1 g is written in milligrams (500
mg)
– Less than l mg should be written in
microgram 100 microgram (not 0.1 mg)
– Nanogram and microgram should not be
abbreviated
 Clark’s Rule

Clark's Rule

Divide the child’s weight (in pounds) by 150 to get the approximate fraction of
the adult dose to give to the child.
 Example: For a 50 pound child give 50/150 (or 1/3) of the adult
dose. Therefore, if the adult dose is 30 drops taken 3 times per
day, the child’s dose will be 10 drops taken 3 times per day
 (not 30 drops taken 1 time per day).

•
Essential Components of Prescriptions

All written prescriptions should contain:

1) Patient's full name and address
2) Prescriber's full name, address, telephone number,
3) Date of issuance
4) Signature of prescriber
5) Drug name, dose, dosage form, amount
6) Directions for use
7) Refill instructions
Essential Components of Prescriptions
 Latin abbreviations

• Rx : abbreviation of the Latin word "recipe” x as a substitute

period.

• # ac (ante cibum)

• means "before meals"

• # bid (bis in die) means

• "twice a day"
 Latin abbreviations

• # po (per os)

• means "by mouth"

• # pc (post cibum) means

• "after meals"

• # prn (pro re nata)

• means "as needed"

 Latin abbreviations
• # q 3 h (quaque 3 hora)

• means "every 3 hours"

• # qd (quaque die)

• means "every day"

• # qid (quater in die) means

• "4 times a day"