Prescribing plays a major part in the effective management of dental conditions in practice. With this in mind, it is imperative that dental prescribing is appropriate and safe for patients
In Standard 7.1 of Standards for the Dental Team the GDC advise dentists to “make an appropriate assessment of your patient’s condition, prescribe within your competence and keep accurate records”.
“Other than in emergencies, you should not prescribe medicines for anyone with whom you have a close personal relationship as you may not be able to remain objective and you could overlook serious problems, encourage addiction, or interfere with treatment provided by other healthcare professionals”.
“You must not prescribe medicines for yourself”.
“You should only use remote means to prescribe medicines for dental patients if there is no other viable option and it is in their best interests”.
Under the General Dental Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993, dentists can prescribe for NHS patients, medicines that are listed in the List of Dental Preparations in the British National Formulary.
A dentist can prescribe any medicine from the British National Formulary (BNF) on a private prescription if it meets the identified dental needs of the patient.
Use the Contents on the right for further advice on Dental Prescribing.