William McGlashan, DDS
Most of us have thought, at one time or another, “This is the worst day of my life!” For me, that day was Thursday, February 7th, 2013. That was the day my wife found our 22-year-old son, Ryan, in his bedroom, dead from a heroin overdose. For most people, Ryan is just another statistic that they’re vaguely aware of when the local news station reports a story related to opiate abuse and addiction. For my family, this was an event that continues to haunt us every day. Parents should never have to experience the loss of a child.
Ryan’s death was part of the increasing epidemic of opioid addiction. It has been widely reported that opiate use, abuse, addiction, and opiate-related deaths have risen significantly over the last decade or so. As doctors, we are empowered to help mitigate the damage these substances are inflicting on our children, families, friends, and members of our community. Each dentist can develop a standard protocol for the prescription of pain medications in his or her practice to help reduce the potential for contributing to opiate use, abuse, addiction, and opiate-related deaths.
The increasing prevalence of opioid addiction
Many consider the unprecedented increase in opioid abuse a crisis across America. In 2012 alone, a total of 259 million prescriptions were written for opioids. This can be equated to giving every adult in the US their own bottle of pills.1 Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report the following statistics:2
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