Pharmacology

Personally, I found pharmacology to be one of my toughest courses throughout this journey so far. Not only did I find the way it was presented challenging (online) due to the global outbreak of COVID-19 but also because the information tends to be very scientific and sometimes hard to grasp.

Coming into this course I lacked the essential background knowledge on many drugs and medications and the fact that I couldn’t pronounce some of the names made it even more challenging to understand. Here I am on my way to becoming an oral health professional and I can’t even pronounce the drug “Albuterol” which to me was embarrassing, this is when I knew all my energy needed to be focused on this course.

The concepts in which I would like to extend my knowledge on are Chapter 12: Drugs for Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease and Chapter 22: Pregnancy and Breastfeeding. I would like to explore these topics further because I feel they are very relatable to the clinical situations I have been presented with at the Niagara College Dental Clinic and would like to ensure I fill in any gaps in my knowledge to help me be the best clinician I can for my current and future clients.

Chapter 12: Drugs for Cardiovascular Disease

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Reference

Haveles, E., 2020. Applied Pharmacology For The Dental Hygienist. 8th ed. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier, pp.456-543.

Chapter 22: Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Dental Drugs Used During Pregnancy & Nursing

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Reference

Haveles, E., 2020. Applied Pharmacology For The Dental Hygienist. 8th ed. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier, pp.813-826.

DH CONDISDERATIONS

Semi-supine position
No dental x-rays
Nursing mothers should nurse prior to medications
All restorative dental work should be postponed until infant delivery but if necessary, the second trimester is the safest

After reviewing the pharmacology chapters in which I wanted to gain more knowledge in, I can honestly say I feel more confident in the material and bridged all gaps regarding both cardiovascular and pregnancy drugs.

This study session has allowed me to easily point out key cardiovascular drugs by their drug name endings and know which commonly used medications in dentistry and safe for both pregnant and nursing mothers. I learned that drugs ending in “-olol” are b-blockers, “-sartans” are ARBS, “-pril” are ACE’s and by knowing this information it will allow me to quickly identify the drug, what it does and its use within the body.

In regard to pregnancy and nursing I created a chart in which I can quickly refer to which helps identify if the drug in question is safe, when its safest, effects on baby, and if nursing while on it is contraindicated. Both these charts will be a great asset to me not only in the Niagara College Dental Clinic but also out in practice as quick reference guides. I plan to print them out and add them into my reference folder so that I can refer back when needed.

Pharmacology