Assessing the Risk of Drug Interactions

Oral health professionals need to carefully evaluate the possibility of adverse drug interactions in order to provide safe care.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
After reading this course, the participant should be able to:

1. Discuss the incidence of polypharmacy in the United States and its potential impact on adverse drug interactions and clinical care.
2. Explain the stages of pharmacokinetics, and how drugs can react with other drugs—as well as food and vitamin/mineral/herbal supplements—during each stage.
3. List clinical strategies for assessing and minimizing the risk of adverse drug interactions.

This course was issued in March 2020 and expires March 2023. The authors have no commercial conflicts of interest to disclose. This 2 credit hour self-study activity is electronically mediated.