Education regarding opioid prescription within oral and maxillofacial surgery residency programs: a survey study

The inappropriate use of opioids in the United States continues to pose a significant challenge to public health. For a look into how the next generation of practitioners may be trained, this survey study sought to evaluate the current opioid prescribing patterns among Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) residency programs in the United States.

A 16-question survey was sent to 100 residency program directors, with responses from 27 programs. The survey aimed to assess the program's strategies for postoperative pain management, including the use of opioids, non-opioids, and other available modalities such as localized long-acting bupivacaine.

The results showed that 74% of the responding programs still taught the use of opioid prescriptions for third-molar removal, and 40% of the surveyed programs used prescription narcotics for other extractions as well. One-third of residency programs have adopted the use of localized long-lasting bupivacaine to limit the amount of narcotic medication required for dentoalveolar procedures.

This study highlights the implications of these prescription habits and raises questions regarding future improvements to OMFS resident training programs.