The Opioid Crisis

View the ADA's official policies on opioid abuse, drug addiction, and other substance use disorders.

If you are a dentist, please visit the Preventing Opioid Abuse page to access practical guides for safe prescribing, free online continuing education, and other tools and information for managing dental pain, especially for patients who are at risk for drug overdose and/or addiction.

The ADA is offering free access to this content as a public service. Most other CPS content is reserved for members only.

Oral Health Topic: Oral Analgesics for Acute Dental Pain

If you are a patient, please visit MouthHealthy.org to learn about the benefits and drawbacks of using opioid pain medications, what to ask your dentist, and how to safely secure and dispose of them at home.

• December 12, 2019—Letter (PDF) urging House leaders to schedule a floor vote on S. 2740, the Over-the-Counter Drug Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act of 2019.
  
  
• October 30, 2019—Letter (PDF) urging members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to favorably report S. 2740, the Over-the-Counter Drug Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act of 2019.
  
  
• June 18, 2019—Letter (PDF) thanking the House Committee on Oversight and Reform for holding a hearing on opioid treatment and supporting the Patient and Communities Act.
  
  
• January 8, 2019—Letter (PDF) thanking House leaders for scheduling a floor vote on the Over-the-Counter Monograph Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act of 2019.
  
  
• September 12, 2018—Letter (PDF) expressing support for the Senate substitute amendment to H.R. 6, the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018.
  
  
• June 12, 2018—Letter (PDF) thanking House leaders for bringing several bills to the floor to address the opioid crisis.
  
  
• June 6, 2018—Letter (PDF) urging the Senate Committee on Finance to consider several proposals when marking up legislation to address the opioid crisis.
  
  
• May 22, 2018—Letter (PDF) urging the House Judiciary Committee to consider several proposals when marking up legislation to address the opioid crisis.
  
  
• May 22, 2018—Letter (PDF) urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to consider several proposals when marking up legislation to address the opioid crisis.
  
  
• May 22, 2018—Letter (PDF) informing the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation about the ADA's new opioid prescribing policy.
  
  
• May 16, 2018—Letter (PDF) urging the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to favorably report several bills to address the opioid crisis.
  
  
• May 14, 2018—Letter (PDF) urging the House Ways and Means Committee to include dentists in any activities authorized by H.R. 5774, the Combatting Opioid Abuse for Care in Hospitals (COACH) Act.
  
  
• April 23, 2018—Letter (PDF) Letter urging the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to favorably report S. 2680, the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018.
  
  
• April 23, 2018—Letter (PDF) urging the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to favorably report S. 2315, the Over-the-Counter Drug Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act.
  
  
• March 30, 2018—Letter (PDF) informing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) about the ADA's new opioid prescribing policy.
  
  
• March 26, 2018—Letter (PDF) informing the House Committee on Energy and Commerce about the ADA's new opioid prescribing policy.
  
  
• March 26, 2018—Letter (PDF) informing the House Committee on Ways and Means about the ADA's new opioid prescribing policy.
  
  
• March 26, 2018—Letter (PDF) informing the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions about the ADA's new opioid prescribing policy.
  
  
• October 25, 2017—Statement (PDF) for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on "Federal Efforts to Combat the Opioid Crisis: A Status Update on CARA and Other Initiatives," held October 25, 2017.
  
  
• October 5, 2017—Statement (PDF) for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing on "The Federal Response to the Opioid Crisis," held October 5, 2017.
  
  
• September 28, 2017—Letter (PDF) to Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Shelley Moore Capito regarding partial fill prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances.
  
  
• August 7, 2017—Letter (PDF) to Sen. Joe Manchin regarding dentistry's efforts to keep prescription opioid pain medications from becoming source of harm.

• August 26, 2019—Comments (PDF) addressing how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can balance legitimate patient access to controlled substances, including opioids, while also preventing diversion and abuse.


• April 1, 2019—Comments (PDF) on the draft report of the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force.


• January 15, 2019—Comments (PDF) on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's (USPSTF) Draft Research Plan for Prevention of Opioid Use Disorder.


• October 9, 2018—Letter (PDF) thanking the U.S. Surgeon General for issuing Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General's Spotlight on Opioids.


• May 22, 2018—Letter (PDF) urging the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force to address management of acute dental pain in its work.


• March 30, 2018—Letter (PDF) informing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) about the ADA's new opioid prescribing policy.


• March 16, 2018—Comments (PDF) in response to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) request for information on questions relevant to agency's Opioid Policy Steering Committee (OPSC).


• October 27, 2017—Statement on the president's official declaration of opioid abuse as a national public health emergency.


• August 11, 2017—Statement on the president's public remarks on opioid abuse being a national public health emergency.


• July 17, 2017—Comments (PDF) on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) draft Blueprint for Prescriber Education for Extended-Release and Long-Acting Opioids.


• September 6, 2016—Comments (PDF) responding to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) request for information about how federal opioid analgesic prescriber education and training activities can be improved.

Related articles from the Journal of the American Dental Association.

• Opioid prescribing patterns after dental visits among beneficiaries of Medicaid in Washington state in 2014 and 2015 (JADA April 2019)
• What Dentists Should Know: Key Opioid Articles From The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA March 2019)
• A scoping review exploring the opioid prescribing practices of US dental professionals (JADA December 2018)
• Commentary: The role of the oral health community in addressing the opioid overdose epidemic (JADA August 2018)
• Benefits and Harms Associated with Analgesic Medications Used in the Management of Acute Dental Pain: An Overview of Systematic Reviews (JADA April 2018)
• Opioid Prescribing Practices From 2010 Through 2015 Among Dentists in the United States: What Do Claims Data Tell Us? (JADA April 2018)
• Prescription Monitoring Program Data: What It Can Tell You (JADA April 2018)
• Opioid prescribing and risk mitigation implementation in the management of acute pain: Results from The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (JADA April 2018)
• Sex and Race or Ethnicity Disparities in Opioid Prescriptions for Dental Diagnoses Among Patients Receiving Medicaid (JADA April 2018)
• Why do we prescribe Vicodin? (JADA July 2016)
• Dental opioid prescribing and multiple opioid prescriptions among dental patients (JADA July 2016)
• Addressing after-hours requests for prescription drugs (JADA April 2014)
• Combining ibuprofen and acetaminophen for acute pain management after third-molar extractions (JADA August 2013)
• Substance-use screening and interventions in dental practices: Survey of practice-based research network dentists regarding current practices, policies and barriers (JADA June 2013)
• Prevention of prescription opioid abuse: The role of the dentist (JADA July 2011)
• What Should I do When I Suspect a Patient May be Abusing Prescription Drugs? (JADA May 2008)
• What are my ethical responsibilities when I suspect an employee of substance abuse? (JADA February 2007)

View the ADA's press kit for more in-depth information about dentistry's response to the opioid crisis.

Journalists may also contact the media relations department at:

Media Relations
312.440.2806
Email: mediarelations@ada.org

Government and Public Affairs

Washington Office
202.898.2400
Email: govtpol@ada.org

State Government Affairs
312.440.2525
Email: govtpol@ada.org

American Dental Political Action Committee (ADPAC)
202.898.2424
Email: adpac@ada.org

Media Relations

Journalists may contact the media relations department at:

Media Relations
312.440.2806
Email: mediarelations@ada.org

Center for Professional Success (CPS)

Questions about government rules and regulations? Explore the ADA Center for Professional Success. (Members Only)

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