Substance Use Screening Among Adolescents: National Dental Practice-Based Research Network Survey

Area of Science:

• Dental Public Health
• Adolescent Medicine
• Substance Use Disorders

Background:

• Adolescent substance use is a significant public health concern.
• Dentists are uniquely positioned to identify and address substance use in young patients.
• Current practices for substance use screening, counseling, and referral among dentists are not well-documented.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviors of practicing dentists regarding substance use screening in adolescent patients.
• To identify barriers and facilitators to implementing substance use disorder (SUD) screening, counseling, and referral in dental practices.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, regionally representative electronic survey was administered to 751 practicing dentists.
• The survey assessed dentists' knowledge, opinions, and behaviors related to screening for tobacco/nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, and illicit drug use disorders.
• The instrument also evaluated practices concerning brief counseling and referral for adolescent substance use.

Main Results:

• Less than half of dentists (40.5%) screened for adolescent nicotine/tobacco use annually; about one-third screened for other substances.
• Approximately half of screening dentists never provided counseling for positive screens for alcohol, cannabis, or illicit drugs.
• Referral rates to specialty care were low, with reported associations between barriers, stigma, and practice behaviors.

Conclusions:

• This is the first national study detailing dentists' practices in screening, counseling, and referring adolescents for SUDs.
• Despite low current implementation rates, a significant proportion of dentists expressed willingness to engage in these practices.
• Dentists reported low levels of stigma and high perceived relevance of SUD screening, counseling, and referral to their practice.