As millions of Americans continue to be affected by a substance use disorder (SUD) related to opioids, the opioid crisis remains a major public health concern. In 2023 alone, there were more than 79,000 drug overdose deaths linked to these substances in the United States.1
To help dental providers navigate this crisis, Cigna Healthcare Dental is refreshing Fighting Prescription Opioid Abuse, an educational series previously developed exclusively for The Bridge newsletter, and now available on the Cigna Dental Digital Provider Newsroom. While this inaugural article presents an overview of the issues at hand, future articles focus on topics including dental prescribing practices, patient screening, education, and advocacy efforts.
How is the dental community impacted?
While the opioid crisis continues to evolve, dentistry remains an important area of focus due to the potential entry point for exposure, primarily among adolescents and young adults after a procedure like third molar extraction. Since the initial launch of this series, we are pleased to report a positive trend: recent research indicates a decrease in the number of opioid prescriptions written by dentists over the last decade, and specifically, a 34.4% reduction from 2015 to 2019.2
Despite these improvements, the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) asserts that routine opioid prescribing following dental procedures remains common.3 Although progress has been made throughout the years, dentistry continues to play a meaningful role in opioid exposure and management initiatives.
What is driving SUD and what is Cigna Healthcare doing about it?
Cigna currently has many initiatives under way, including an enterprise workgroup to identify and help drive solutions to further address the opioid epidemic.
What is Cigna planning to do in the future?
At the enterprise level, Cigna’s designated work group is focused on identifying areas of highest impact to address the crisis, areas for improvement, and appropriate engagement/action with policymakers. For more dental-specific information, stay tuned for future articles on the Cigna Healthcare Dental Digital Provider Newsroom.
1 Drug Overdose Deaths: Facts and Figures | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
2 January JADA looks at changes in opioid prescribing by dentists | American Dental Association
3 Opioid Prescribing After Dental Procedures: Trends from 2018 to 2023 | IADR – International Association of Dental Research