The College of Dental Medicine and the Department of Online Education in collaboration with the California Dental Association created an online course, “Responsibilities and Requirements for Prescribing Controlled Substances (Schedule II Opioid Drugs).” The course is offered through CDA’s continuing education portal and is promoted by the American Dental Association.  With instruction designed by Jeffrey Elo, DDS, MS, the unique and engaging course follows six fictional, animated patients at a dental practice over the course of a day. Through these six patient consultations, course attendees learn about the very different patient presentations they may encounter in their practice. 

The 2-hour self-study online course was built to help dentists maintain compliance with the legal and regulatory requirements of California Senate Bill 1109 and Section 1645 of the California Business and Professions Code related to prescribing and dispensing controlled substances.  The course meets the requirements for opioid use disorder training for licensure.   

Why is it important? 

Addiction, misuse, and overdose of prescription opioids is a public health crisis affecting both adults and children.  Urgent measures are needed to better inform the public of the risks associated with the long-term and short-term use of opioids to address this problem.  Both short-term and long-term prescriptions of opioids to minors require counseling of patients and their parents or guardians by their prescribers.  It was the intent of the California Legislature through passage of SB 1109 to ensure that health care providers receive necessary education on this topic. 

Background Information 

To combat the growing epidemic, the American Dental Association (ADA) in 2018 announced an updated policy on opioids.  The ADA supports mandatory continuing education for opioid prescribers with an emphasis on preventing drug overdoses, chemical dependency, and drug diversion; and supports limiting the dose and duration of initial opioid prescriptions to a duration of no more than seven days, consistent with Centers for Disease Control recommendations. 

Responding to the growing danger of opioid addiction stemming from prescription drug abuse, the Dental Board of California (DBC) voted in February 2019 to require continuing education courses on the prescribing of opioids as a condition of license renewal for dentists, stating “…dentists shall be required to take two units of continuing education on pain management, the identification of addiction, risks of addiction, or in the practices of prescribing or dispensing opioids.”  Two units of continuing education are required every license renewal period.  The course needs to cover pain management, the identification of addiction, risks of addiction, or the practices of prescribing or dispensing opioids.  

The DBC’s action was in response to a study published in the December 2018  Journal of the American Medical Association that revealed that a substantial proportion of teens and young adults are exposed to opioids through dental clinicians, leading to an increased risk of addiction. 

Course Description

Responsibilities and Requirements for Prescribing Controlled Substances (Schedule II Opioid Drugs) is a 2-hour self-study online course created by Western University of Health Sciences in collaboration with the California Dental Association (CDA) to help dentists maintain compliance with the legal and regulatory requirements of California Senate Bill 1109 (2018) and Section 1645 of the California Business and Professions Code related to prescribing and dispensing controlled substances.  This unique and engaging course follows six virtual patients presenting to a dental office over the course of a day – each with a different opioid-related concern involving pain management and addiction.  Through these six patient consultations, course attendees learn about the very different patient presentations they may encounter in their practices by watching animations, videos, and interactively progressing through a day at a dental office.  The course ends with the dentists highlighting key points from the consultations. 

This course is approved by the CDA for 2 hours of continuing education and meets the requirements for opioid use disorder training for licensure.  The course is open to all dentists in California, but dentists who have DEA registrations and prescribe controlled substances will especially benefit from the course material.  It also counts for 2 hours toward the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 8-hour MATE Act requirement.    

Specifically, participants will learn:

– How to manage acute and chronic pain in the dental setting.
– The practices and legal requirements for opioid prescribing and dispensing.
– How to register for, and utilize, CURES (Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System).
– The risks and identification of opioid use disorder.
– How to identify red flag indicators of prescriptions issued for reasons other than a legitimate medical purpose.

    The course is available to CDA members at a discounted price.  Dentists can register now for the course through CDA’s online learning platform or through ADA’s online learning platform.  Attendees can complete the course at their own pace.