Antibiotic allergy is self-reported in up to 1 in 10 patients yet numerous studies have shown that ~90% are not allergic at all when assessed by skin testing. Given the limited range of antibiotics used in dentistry, heeding antibiotic allergy claims poses challenges to appropriate antibiotic selection. How can you confidently tell the difference between those who think they are “allergic” and those who truly are? This seminar will explain the four types of drug allergies, how to differentiate between them  and how to prescribe in each context, given emerging data that these drugs do not have to be avoided forever as was once thought. We will also discuss adverse drug reactions in general, why it is so important to include them in a patient’s medical history, how to prescribe around them, how to diagnose those that manifest in the oral cavity or those that arise from dental drugs. 

This seminar will give you the skills to finally sort out all those patients truly are allergic to medications, who think they are allergic to penicillin, “sulpha” drugs or codeine but aren’t , and what your responsibilities are for those patients who have legitimate concerns about medications causing adverse effects.

Topics include

• Allergy Vs Adverse Reactions – telling the difference, getting it right
• Prescribing safely to patients who claim antibiotic allergies.
• Managing patients who claim allergies to local anaesthetics, codeine, chlorhexidine, dental materials, parabens
• ADRs- How do we ever know the side effects of drugs? Become a ‘pharmacovigilante’.
• How to diagnose allergies and adverse drug reactions (ADRs).
• Adverse drug reactions that occur in the oral cavity.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the difference between allergies and adverse drug reactions
• Know the four types of allergic reactions and their key manifestations 
• Differentiate between allergic patients who must avoid all penicillins and cephalosporins and those who do not. 
• Avoid using the term “sulpha allergy” and will develop more accurate allergy history documentation.
• Be able to use the tools presented to prevent, diagnose and report adverse drug reactions, especially those that occur in the oral cavity.