MEDIUMClinicalTier 1
Substance Use and Oral Health: Four Questions Dental Professionals Are Asking
Summary & scoring by The Bell Brief (Dr. Jennifer Bell) using the Drill-Down Protocol (Drill-Down Score) — not the original publisher.
Why it matters for dental
Dental professionals gain practical guidance on recognizing and responding to substance use concerns among patients and colleagues, including motivational interviewing and non-stigmatizing documentation approaches.
Key points
- Brett Kessler, DDS, described his own recovery and explained that dental professionals may need external help when facing substance use disorder themselves.
- David Beckmann, MD, MPH, outlined motivational interviewing steps that keep the conversation open when a patient is not ready to change substance use behavior.
- Experts stated that a colleague showing signs of impairment may require reporting to the dental board if patient safety remains at risk after initial outreach.
- Beckmann advised using person-first language in charts, such as "person with a substance use disorder," instead of terms like "addict."
Who should care
AssociateStaff
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