Patterns of opioid use among Texas dental practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: The primary objective of this study is to assess factors that influence opioid prescribing by dentists and the role of these factors in the practice of dental pain control. Design: A 25-question survey instrument was distributed to the study population for anonymous responses, covering dentist and practice demographics and opioid prescribing characteristics. Setting: Private solo and group practice settings, including general practitioners and dental specialists. Participants: Potential participants included all active members of a large state dental professional association. Main outcome measures: They were practitioner and practice demographic traits, types of opioids prescribed, and statistical correlations. Outcome variables included practice type, practitioner gender, practice location, practice model, and years in practice. Categorical covariates were summarized statistically by frequencies and percentages, and continuous covariates were summarized by means, medians, ranges, and standard deviations. Results: Strongest correlations with opioid prescribing included general practitioner (vs specialist) and male gender. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic was confirmed as having exerted a significant impact on opioid prescribing among the survey respondents. Conclusions: Further research is warranted to assess post-pandemic opioid prescribing patterns, and additional educational strategies regarding limitations of opioid prescriptions should be applied to general, rather than specialty, dental practitioners.