Drug interactions: a review and update

Dealing with drug interactions can be challenging. New medications are continually being introduced to the market, and dentists should have a fundamental knowledge of drug interactions. Medication regimens must be routinely screened for potential drug interactions. When assessing potential drug interactions, it is necessary to consider the result of such interference, whether this outcome can be adjusted for and whether the benefit of therapy overrides the risk of such an interaction. In many situations, drug interactions are not seen clinically because the course of therapy of the potential offending agent is short (i.e., antibiotics), because of patient characteristics or because there is a failure to identify them.