GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — If you want to change behaviors, you should try capturing hearts first.
That’s what a group of oral surgeons did at an event designed to educate dentists and doctors about the dangers of overprescribing opioids. The goal was to convince the 180 or so attendees to look for alternatives to prescribing opioids for pain relief after dental procedures.
The event, hosted by the Center for Oral Surgery and Dental Implants in Grand Rapids, featured two speakers: A recovering heroin addict who recently had teeth removed and replaced, and an oral surgeon whose son died from a heroin overdose.
“Physicians and dentists were part of the problem,” said Dr. Omar Abubaker, an oral surgeon and chairman of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Dentistry’s Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. “And physician and dentists better come up and be part of the solution.”
Abubaker’s son, Adam, died from a heroin overdose in 2014. Now, he speaks to group nationwide about the dangers of overprescribing opioids.
Abubaker thinks the opioids his son was prescribed after shoulder surgery may have started him on the path to addiction.
“There was nothing about him that was a warning sign, nothing,” said Abubaker of his son. “All of sudden, I find that he’s addicted.”
FULL STORY: WOOD TV