title: Clinical management of the dental patient taking multiple drugs.
abstract: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) occur often in elders often due to polypharmacy. Those over 65 currently comprise 13% of the population but consume approximately a third of all drugs prescribed. Increased care when prescribing certain drug classes and careful monitoring of the patient can prevent many ADRs. This article examines four questions that should be addressed when providing dental care for an older patient taking multiple medications. These include: (1) what are the medical conditions that necessitate the medications, (2) what impact do these medical conditions have on the provision of care, (3) what are the oral side effects of the medications, and (4) how will the patient's current list of medications alter the dentist's prescribing patterns for drugs used in dentistry?
authors.affiliation: ORal Medicine Clinic, University of Pacific, School of Dentistry, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA. pjacobse@pacific.edu
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.forename: Elisa M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Chávez
mesh_terms: D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems; D000368:Aged; D016321:Dental Care for Aged; D017742:Dental Care for Chronically Ill; D004347:Drug Interactions; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D016330:Frail Elderly; D005885:Gingival Hyperplasia / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000139:chemically induced; D019338:Polypharmacy; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000139:chemically induced