Chapter 01: Information, Sources, Regulatory Agencies, Drug Legislation, and Prescription Writing

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Knowledge of pharmacology aids the dental professional in:

1. Obtaining a patient’s health history
2. Administering drugs in the office
3. Handling emergency situations
4. Life-long learning
5. All of the above

ANS: e

Correct: Because many of our patients are being treated with drugs, knowledge of pharmacology helps in understanding and interpreting patients’ responses to health history questions. Knowledge of the therapeutic and adverse effects of medications obviously helps in their proper administration in the office. Emergency situations may be caused by drugs or treated by drugs; thus knowledge of pharmacology is of great help, especially because a rapid response is sometimes required. A clear understanding of the concepts of drug action, drug handling by the body, and drug interactions will allow the dental practitioner to make proper judgments and grasp the concepts relevant to new drug therapies on the market.

Incorrect choices: All of the choices are true.

REF: pp. 3-4

2. Which of the following statements is true regarding planning appointments?

1. Whether or not patients are taking medication for systemic diseases is of little consequence in the dental office.
2. Asthmatic patients should have dental appointments in the morning.
3. Diabetic patients usually have fewer problems with a morning appointment compared with afternoon appointments.
4. Both b and c are correct.

ANS: c

Correct: Diabetic patients usually have relatively fewer problems with a morning appointment.

Incorrect choices: Asthmatic patients should have afternoon appointments. Patients taking medication for systemic diseases may require special handling in the dental office.

REF: p. 3

3. Nutritional or herbal supplements:

1. Carry the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for disease states
2. Are not drugs
3. Can cause adverse effects
4. Will not interact with other drugs the patient may be taking

ANS: c

Correct: Nutritional or herbal supplements are quite capable of causing adverse effects.

Incorrect choices: The vast majority of nutritional or herbal supplements do not carry FDA approval for treating disease states. These supplements are drugs and can cause adverse effects and interact with different drugs.

REF: p. 3

4. A side effect is defined as:

1. An unpredictable response to drugs that acts on nontarget organs
2. An unpredictable response to drugs that acts on target organs
3. A predictable response to drugs that acts on nontarget organs
4. A predictable response to drugs that acts on target organs
5. An allergic response to a drug

ANS: c

Correct: Side effects refer to predictable responses to drugs that act on nontarget organs.

Incorrect choices: Allergy refers to an allergic response to a drug.

REF: p. 4

5. Which type of drug name usually begins with a lower case letter?

1. Brand name
2. Code name
3. Generic name
4. Trade name

ANS: c

Correct: Before any drug is marketed, it is given a generic name that becomes the “official” name of the drug. Each drug is assigned only one generic name selected by the U.S. Adopted Name Council, and the name is not capitalized.

Incorrect choices: The brand name is equivalent to the trade name and is capitalized. Although the brand name is technically the name of the company marketing the product, this term is often used interchangeably with the trade name. The code name is the initial term used within a pharmaceutical company to refer to a drug while it is undergoing investigation and is often a combination of capital letters and numbers, the letters representing an abbreviation of the company name.

REF: p. 4