Drug Therapy in Dental Practice: General Principles, Part 1

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Drug Therapy in Dental Practice: General Principles
Anesthesia Progress
Volume 53, Issue 4 (Winter 2006)

Daniel E. Becker, DDS
Professor of Allied Health Sciences, Sinclair Community College, and Associate Director of Education, General Dental Practice Residency, Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, Ohio

Part 1ÛPharmacokinetic Considerations
The fundamental principles that govern drug therapy are often overlooked by the busy clinician. This disregard frequently results in the use of particular drugs and regimens that may be less than ideal for the clinical situation being managed. By convention, these principles are categorized as pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic. Pharmacokinetic processes include drug absorption, distribution, biotransformation (metabolism), and elimination, essentially reflecting the influence of the body on the drug administered. Pharmacodynamics deals with the actual mechanisms of action and the effects a drug produces on the patient. This latter topic will be addressed in a future continuing education article.

Keywords: Drug therapy, Pharmacokinetics, Dental pharmacology

Received: August 28, 2006; Accepted: September 1, 2006

DOI: 10.2344/0003-3006(2006)53[140:DTIDPG]2.0.CO;2

Address correspondence to Dr Daniel Becker, Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, OH 45409; dan.becker@sinclair.edu.

© 2007 The American Dental Society of Anesthesiology