Patient’s Expectation of Medication for Dental Pain

Isabella Hurley*, Jonathan Gore, D. Cade Brawley, Jamey T. Brumbaugh, Casey D. Wright, and Daniel W. McNeil, Department of Psychology and Dental Practice & Rural Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Field (Broad Category): Medical Sciences (Biological & Biochemical Sciences) 

Student’s Major: Biology 

This study investigated potential factors that affect a patient’s expectation for medication in a dental setting. It was hypothesized that current dental pain severity, dental fear/anxiety, and fear of pain would influence patients’ expectations for opioid medications. This study included 108 outpatient adults ( M age = 39.3 years, SD = 15.0; 55.6% female) seeking dental care at West Virginia University’s School of Dentistry urgent care clinic. Each patient completed self-reported measures of demographics, dental care-related fear/anxiety, fear of pain, current dental pain level, and expectations for opioid medications to manage pain. Logistic regression models were used to examine potential predictive associations between the measures while controlling for age, gender, education, and income. There were 71 (64%) of the sample who expected to need over-the-counter medications for their dental pain, and 41 (38%) who expected to need opioid medications for their dental pain. Current dental pain levels significantly predicted patient expectations to need opioids for their dental pain (OR = 1.26, p = 0.017); higher pain levels were associated with greater expectations of the need for opioids. Patient dental fear/anxiety and fear of pain levels were not identified as being predictive factors in expectations for opioid medication. Expectations about over-the-counter medications were not associated with current level of dental pain, dental fear/anxiety, or fear of pain levels. Results suggest that the patient’s pain severity may outweigh other factors when determining pain medication expectations. 

Funding:   The American Association of Endodontists

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP)