Patient medication costs as a therapeutic consideration

Don't neglect therapeutic considerations in selecting drugs, but take their cost into account. Sometimes, selecting an older, established drug or generic equivalent can represent a significant savings for the patient.

Analgesic concerns in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-deficient dental patients: myth or reality?

Certain military dental records contain medical advisory sheets warning that the patients have deficiencies of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and warn that certain medications, including many commonly used analgesics, should not be given, or should be given only with extreme caution, in those patients. A review of the literature does not support that advisory and there is little evidence to suggest that short-term therapeutic administration of these essential medications will pose a threat of hemolytic reaction in dental patients. There are no reported cases found of such a reaction in the dental literature, and this survey of 19 military patients failed to identify even one case that had problems. From a dental treatment standpoint, the concern over short-term medication regimens in these patients following dental surgery or treatment is unsubstantiated. There appears to be little rationale for the dental records of these patients to contain medical precautionary sheets.

Charting accuracy in Navy dental records

Eighty-five Navy patients and their dental records were reviewed, to determine the accuracy of the recorded initial findings in the SF603 Dental Record, and any subsequent treatment recordings. These findings were compared to those of a similar study published in 1970, and comparisons were drawn between the two reviews as to the accuracy of the charting and usefulness for forensic dental identification. A possible future concern in forensic dental identification was identified and is discussed.

Hepatitis risk: a clinical perspective

Clinical guidelines are outlined that will minimize the risk of professional personnel treating patients with hepatitis B. Following these procedures is emphasized as the history of the patient is not a reliable tool in screening this disease.