Top Medications in Dental Practice: Dental Assisting

As a dental assistant, you will need to be familiar with the top medications used in dental care, which starts with the basics of pharmacology, the study of how medications work, and why they are used. As you review your patient’s medication histories, having a solid understanding of pharmacological principles helps you to understand how some medications can affect your patient during dental procedures and recognize medication side effects when they occur.

This knowledge also helps you to understand the principles of managing pain and infection, prepares you to respond effectively in emergencies, guides the education you provide for your patients, and helps to keep patients safe.

Now, some of the most common medications you’ll see in the dental setting are used to manage pain, prevent or treat infections, and manage anxiety. Medications used to manage pain are called analgesics and are categorized as non-opioid or opioid medications. Non-opioid analgesics are used for mild to moderate pain and include acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, known as NSAIDS, including ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin. These medications are available over the counter without prescription.

In contrast, opioid analgesics may be prescribed for moderate to severe pain, often following extensive dental procedures. However, current guidelines recommend nonnarcotic analgesics as first-line therapy before using opioids whenever possible. When opioids such as codeine combinations are indicated, they must be prescribed by a licensed provider. Because these medications carry a risk of addiction and adverse effects, dentists take special care to prescribe them only when necessary and when non-opioid analgesics are not effective.

Other medications commonly used in the dental setting are antibiotics. These medications are most often used to treat bacterial infections such as abscesses and gingival infections. Other times, antibiotics are given to prevent infections that could occur after a dental procedure, a practice known as antibiotic prophylaxis. This is especially important for patients with certain conditions like prosthetic joints, infective endocarditis, and prosthetic heart valves.

Antibiotics can be bactericidal, which means they directly kill harmful bacteria, or bacteriostatic, meaning they weaken the bacteria by inhibiting their growth and reproduction so the immune system can eliminate them. One of the most common antibiotics you’ll see in the dental setting is penicillin. For patients who are allergic to penicillin, alternatives such as azithromycin or certain cephalosporins may be prescribed, depending on the severity of the allergy.

Antifungal medications are used for patients diagnosed with a fungal infection, which can occur in those who are immunocompromised, have a condition that causes a dry mouth, or xerostomia, and those who have poorly-fitting dentures. The antifungal medication used most often in dental settings is nystatin.

Other common medications you’ll see in the dental setting include antiviral medications like acyclovir to manage viral infections that affect the mouth, such as herpes simplex virus; and antianxiety medications, like diazepam, which are used to help patients feel calmer and more comfortable during complicated dental procedures.

Now, the patients who are seen in your dental office are often prescribed a variety of medications to treat medical conditions. As a dental assistant, you need to be familiar with some of these medications, how they are used, and how they affect dental care.