Pharmacology for the Dental Practitioner – Thursday, December 3, 2020
Category 1 – 2 CE Points

Presenter: Dr. Aviv Ouanounou

Dr. Aviv Ouanounou is an assistant professor of pharmacology and Preventive Dentistry at the faculty of dentistry, University of Toronto. He received both his DDS and MSc at the University of Toronto. He teaches pharmacology and Preventive Dentistry to undergraduate and graduate students and is also a clinical instructor and Treatment Plan Coordinator.  Dr. Ouanounou won numerous teaching awards including wining “Best Teacher of the Year Award” three times: in 2013, 2015 and just recently in 2019.  Also, Dr. Ouanounou is the recipient of the 2014-2015 prestigious Dr. Bruce Hord Master Teacher Award for excellence in teaching at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto.  Dr. Ouanounou is a Fellow of the International College of Dentists.  He is a member of the American Academy of Pain Management and the American College of Clinical Pharmacology. He has published and authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.  He also maintains a general private practice in Toronto.

Course Description:

Clinical pharmacology studies the effects of drugs and their use for preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. In this lecture I will review the various pharmacological agents commonly used in the daily dental practice. We will discuss local anaesthetics, its mechanism of action, onset and duration of action and adverse effects and potential complications associated with its use.  Also, we will review the analgesics most commonly used in dentistry namely, acetaminophen, NSAIDs and opioids.  In this section, I will discuss the adverse effects, common drug interactions and recommended dosages.  Moreover, anti-infectives most commonly used will be discussed.  Also, since the use of herbal medications has significantly increased in the last few years, a discussion on the most common herbal medications will be provided and its effects on dental treatment.   Finally,  in this lecture we will review special topics such as geriatrics, pregnancy, kidney failure and liver disease, all situations requiring special caution on the part of the clinician when prescribing or administering drugs in the daily dental practice. 

Learning objectives:

• 1.      Understand basic concepts of pharmacology namely pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. 
• 2.      Understand the mechanism of action of local anaesthetics, the factors that affect their onset and duration of action and the common complication associated with their administration.
• 3.      Be informed of the analgesics currently used in dentistry.  Understand the various adverse effects and drug interactions relevant to dentistry.   
• 4.      Understand the rational use of anti-infective agents in dentistry, both in terms of the management of existing orofacial infections and for prophylaxis against the development of bacterial endocarditis or other infection post treatment.