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Persistent Opioid Use Associated With Dental Opioid Prescriptions Among Publicly and Privately Insured US Patients, 2014 to 2018

  • Persistent opioid use was defined as 1 or more dispensed opioid prescriptions 4 to 90 days after the index date and 1 or more prescriptions 91 to 365 days after the index date. Overall POU was 1.3%, and the risk of POU was higher among publicly insured (2.0%) than privately insured patients (0.9%).
  • The initial dental opioid prescriptions were associated with a 1.0–percentage point higher risk of POU among publicly insured patients compared with privately insured patients.
  • The results further highlight the importance of avoiding dental opioid prescribing when nonopioids provide effective analgesia, which is the case for most dental procedures.


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Chua KP; Hu HM; Waljee JF; Nalliah RP; Brummett CM; Persistent Opioid Use Associated With Dental Opioid Prescriptions Among Publicly and Privately Insured US Patients, 2014 to 2018. JAMA Network Open. Published online 16 April 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.6464