Abstract
Many dentists have indicated that NSAIDs cannot be used for tooth pain and temporomandibular disorders and that antimicrobial agents are not available for dental infections despite their effectiveness because they are not approved for dental indications. In many cases, dentists hesitate to use drugs for children or pregnant women because their package inserts indicate that “safety has not been established” even when they are not unapproved or are drugs used for unapproved indications. Thus, many problems exist with the pharmacotherapy in dental care provided by health insurance. A Survey of Problems with Pharmacotherapy for Dental Care Provided by Health Insurance: General Survey Focusing on Unapproved Drugs/Drugs Used for Unapproved Indications was therefore performed. The results showed that many dentists have difficulty in providing routine care because effective drugs were not approved for dental indications. Many dentists thought that clinical development should be advanced to approve unapproved drugs and drugs used for unapproved indications, giving examples, such as antimicrobial agents, analgesics, and psychotropic agents. Dentists hoped that investigator-initiated trials would be performed and that the insurance examination process would address the issue to approve more drugs for dental indications. They also hoped that related organizations and Japanese association for dental societies would take a leadership role in achieving these goals.
