1. Therapeutics in Dentistry
(General Principles)
Iyad Abou Rabii
DDS,OMFS,Mres,PhD

2. Pharmacology Basics
• Indications
– The reasons for administering a
medication or performing a treatment
• Contra-indications
– A factor that prevents the use of a
medication or treatment (eg. Allergies)
2

3. Pharmacology Basics
• Dose
– The amount of a drug to be administered
at one time
• Mechanism of Action
– How a drug works
3

4. Pharmacology Basics
• Effects
– The desired result of administration of a
medication
• Side Effects
– Effects that are not desired and that occur
in addition to the desired therapeutic
effects
4

5. Medication Names
• Chemical Name
– describes the drug’s chemical structure
• Generic Name
– reflects the chemical name, but in shorter
form
5

6. Medication Names
• Trade Name
– the name the manufacturer uses to market
the drug
• Official Name
– the name used in the Pharmocopoeia
6

7. Routes
• Enteral tract routes
• Parenteral routes

8. Comparison of Enteral vs.
Parenteral Routes

9. Enteral Routes
• Oral (PO)
• Orogastric/nasogastric (OG/NG)
• Sublingual (SL)
• Buccal
• Rectal (PR)

10. Parenteral Routes
• Topical • Sublingual
• Intradermal injection
• Intranasal • Intracardiac (IC)
• Subcutaneous • Intraosseous
(SC) • Inhalational
• Intramuscular (IM) • Umbilical
• Intravenous (IV) • Vaginal
• Endotracheal (ET) • Pulpal

11. No single method of drug
administration is ideal for all
drugs in all circumstances

12. The Medication Order
(Prescription)
• Medication desired
• Dose desired
• Administration route
• Administration rate

13. Before any Drug
prescription
• Discuss with patient the possible
consequences (god and bad)
• Prescribe drugs you know
• Keep updated
(BNF, Vidal…others)
• Dose: consider
age, physiology, and pathology
• Drug interactions

14. Prescribing
• The Dentist is legally responsible for
the signed prescription
• Prescription should be indelible, dated,
with full name and address of the
patient
• Age of patient should be mentioned
when under 12.
• Use generic drugs when possible

15. Prescribing
• Don`t use abbreviations for the drug
names.
• Define the quantity supplied
• Directions should be in English with no
use of the abbreviations

16. Prescribing
• When writing the dose
– Quantities of one gram is wrriten (1 g)
– Less than 1 g is written in milligrams (500
mg)
– Less than l mg should be written in
microgram 100 microgram (not 0.1 mg)
– Nanogram and microgram should not be
abbreviated

17. Clark’s Rule
Clark's Rule
Divide the child’s weight (in pounds) by 150 to get the approximate
fraction of the adult dose to give to the child.
Example: For a 50 pound child give 50/150 (or 1/3) of the
adult dose. Therefore, if the adult dose is 30 drops taken 3
times per day, the child’s dose will be 10 drops taken 3
times per day
(not 30 drops taken 1 time per day).
•

18. Essential Components of
Prescriptions
All written prescriptions should contain:
1) Patient's full name and address
2) Prescriber's full name, address, telephone number,
3) Date of issuance
4) Signature of prescriber
5) Drug name, dose, dosage form, amount
6) Directions for use
7) Refill instructions

19. Essential Components of
Prescriptions

20. Latin abbreviations
• Rx : abbreviation of the Latin word "recipe” x as a
substitute period.
• # ac (ante cibum)
• means "before meals"
• # bid (bis in die) means
• "twice a day"

21. Latin abbreviations
• # po (per os)
• means "by mouth"
• # pc (post cibum) means
• "after meals"
• # prn (pro re nata)
• means "as needed"

22. Latin abbreviations
• # q 3 h (quaque 3 hora)
• means "every 3 hours"
• # qd (quaque die)
• means "every day"
• # qid (quater in die) means
• "4 times a day"