Guidance

Drug Prescribing For Dentistry (published April 2008)

‘Drug Prescribing For Dentistry’  is now available and can be downloaded in pdf form.

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Background

Registered dentists are legally entitled to prescribe from the entirety of the ‘British National Formulary‘ (BNF) and ‘BNF for Children’ (BNFC). However, dental prescribing within the National Health Service (NHS) is restricted to those drugs contained within the ‘List of Dental Preparations’ in the ‘Dental Practitioners Formulary‘ (DPF). Until recently, the DPF was a distinct publication, providing information on prescribing for general dental practitioners. However, it has now been withdrawn and advice on dental prescribing has been incorporated into the body of the BNF and BNFC, making this advice available to both medical and dental practitioners.

To facilitate easy access to information that is most relevant to primary care dental practice, the SDCEP guidance brings together advice on dental prescribing from the BNF and BNFC and presents it in a problem-orientated style. The information on drug prescribing contained in this guidance is based on BNF 55 and BNFC 2007. Advice on drugs used to manage medical emergencies is also provided. This advice is based on information provided in BNF 55 and BNFC 2007, and guidance published by the Resuscitation Council (UK).

The guidance is suitable for informing dental practitioners in the primary care sector, and applies to all patients, including adults, children and those with special needs, who would normally be treated in the primary care sector. This guidance does not include advice on prescribing for those in a secondary care environment or for practitioners with special expertise who may prescribe a wider range of drugs.

 ‘Drug Prescribing For Dentistry’ has been developed by a small group of professionals with particular interest and experience in dental prescribing, assisted by our Programme Development Team. A draft of this guidance was made available for consultation and all responses received were considered. A revised draft was subject to peer review and further amendments were made in response to comments received at this stage before finalising the guidance for publication. The Guidance Development Group would like to express their thanks to all those who responded to the request for feedback during the consultation and peer-review stages. For further information about the development of this guidance, please contact the SDCEP office (scottishdental.cep@nes.scot.nhs.uk).

A review of all aspects of the context of this guidance (regulations, legislation, trends in working practices and evidence) will take place two years after publication and, if this has changed significantly, the guidance will be updated accordingly. In the interim, SDCEP will monitor significant changes within the BNF and BNFC and provide relevant updates on this website.

The Guidance Development Group: