Avoiding Dental Drug, Dietary Supplement Interactions

When oral health issues start rising for patients, it is in their best interests to immediately seek the assistance of their dental professional in order to get a diagnosis and the proper treatment for whatever it is that is affecting them.

Sometimes, the issue is simple and can be addressed right then and there during their appointment. Other times, patients require dental treatment that involves local anesthesia or even surgery. When the latter scenario happens, dentists will often prescribe one of a few certain medications for their patients to take in the aftermath of their treatment.

However, before a dentist can prescribe anything, they need to know of any other medications their patient is taking to avoid a harmful drug interaction. Among the drugs that interact poorly with dental treatment medication are dietary supplements, according to the authors of a recent article in the journal for the American Dental Association (ADA). To prevent the potentially harmful effects of a drug interaction, says these authors, individuals should avoid regular doses of specific dietary supplements while they are taking medication for dental treatment as well.

These writers consisted of Dr. Mark Donaldson, who is the pharmacy services director of the Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Montana, as well as Riva Touger-Decker, Ph.D., R.D., who is a professor with the Division of Nutrition at New Jersey’s Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. Together, they performed research on interactions between medicine given by or prescribed by dental professionals and the dietary supplements that are most regularly bought in the US.

They discovered that consuming St. John's wort, ginkgo, valerian, or evening primrose while a patient is also consuming drugs that are most commonly used and prescribed in dentistry could cause clinically concerning drug interactions.

This could result in adverse effects, including the reduction of the drug’s effectiveness, blood thinning, and light sensitivity. Because of this, when patients visit their dental professional, it is crucial that they tell them about dietary supplements they are taking as well as any other prescription and OTC drugs.

This way, dentists can make the right decisions regarding the drugs they can safely prescribe or give during and after dental treatment. They could also tell their patients to stop their use of dietary supplements for some time before they can use medication for dental treatments.

"Recognition and avoidance of potential interactions between dietary supplements and medications prescribed or administered commonly will help oral health care providers optimize treatment while emphasizing patients' safety," says both Touger-Decker and Donaldson.

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