DT News - UK - Dental pain found a major contributor to painkiller overdose

Dental Tribune UK

Fri. 27 April 2018

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NOTTINGHAM, UK: Although proven largely ineffective, self-medication with paracetamol is on the rise, with more than 100 deaths every year resulting from taking too much of the drug.

A new study from the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham has now found that every third emergency admission for paracetamol overdose is due to dental pain.

Of the 436 patients that presented at the centre’s accident and emergency unit between May 2014 and April 2016 with accidental paracetamol overdose, 164 had sought relief from pain in their teeth or gingivae.

According to the study results published this month in the British Dental Journal, more women than men presented for care. Every third patient displayed abnormal liver function, a common side-effect of paracetamol overdose.

Commenting on their results, the researchers said that there is inadequate access to timely emergency dental care, a problem highlighted by dental professionals earlier this year in an open letter published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper. They further said that public awareness concerning safe self-medication needs to be improved.

A paracetamol overdose can occur after taking too much of the painkiller over a number of hours or days, resulting in life-threatening conditions, like liver failure. The maximum safe dose of paracetamol for adults is eight 500 mg tablets spread out over 24 hours.

The study, titled “Dental pain management—A cause of significant morbidity due to paracetamol overdose”, was published online in the British Dental Journal on 20 April 2018.

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