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Cited by 39Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesDental Health and Care UtilizationHealth Promotion and Cardiovascular Prevention

Substance-use screening and interventions in dental practices

Open access
McNeely, Jennifer, Wright, Shana, Matthews, Abigail G., Rotrosen, John, Shelley, Donna, Buchholz, Matthew P., Curro, Frederick A.·2013·The Journal of the American Dental Association
DOI 10.14219/jada.archive.2013.0174PMC PMC3699308
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Abstract

Background Dental visits represent an opportunity to identify and assist patients with unhealthy substance use, but little is known about how dentists are addressing patients' use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. The authors surveyed dentists to learn about the role their practices might play in providing substance-use screening and interventions. Methods The authors distributed a 41-item Web-based survey to all 210 dentists active in the Practitioners Engaged in Applied Research and Learning Network, a practice-based research network. The questionnaire assessed dental practices' policies and current practices, attitudes and perceived barriers to providing services for tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use. Results One hundred forty-three dentists completed the survey (68 percent response rate). Although screening was common, fewer dentists reported that they were providing follow-up counseling or referrals for substance use. Insufficient knowledge or training was the most frequently cited barrier to intervention. Many dentists reported they would offer assistance for use of tobacco (67 percent) or alcohol or illicit drugs (52 percent) if reimbursed; respondents who treated publicly insured patients were more likely to reply that they would offer this assistance. Conclusions Dentists recognize the importance of screening for substance use, but they lack the clinical training and practice-based systems focused on substance use that could facilitate intervention. Practical Implications. The results of this study indicate that dentists may be willing to address substance use among patients, including use of alcohol and illicit drugs in addition to tobacco, if barriers are reduced through changes in reimbursement, education and systems-level support.

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  • Annual screening rates for tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs appear largely unchanged from the prior decade.

    “However, rates of screening at least annually for these substances reported in this study appear to be largely unchanged from the prior decade; tobacco: 58.1%; alcohol: 42.4%; illicit drugs: 39.2%).”

    From Dental screening, counseling, and referral to treatment for substance use disorder: Survey of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (2026) · cites this paper as McNeely et al., 2013

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that 59% of dentists in a 2009 survey conducted routine tobacco screening, a figure close to the citing study’s 58.1%. But routine screening is not the same measure as screening at least annually, and the cited paper provides no comparable prior-decade rates for alcohol or illicit drugs. Its Introduction also says tobacco screening had increased over a longer period. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • PEARL respondents endorsed routine screening for tobacco (78%), alcohol (44%), and illicit drug use (33%).

    “Most PEARL respondents endorsed routine screening for tobacco use disorders (78%), whereas less than half endorsed routine screening for alcohol use disorders (44%) and illicit drug use disorders (33%).”

    From Dental screening, counseling, and referral to treatment for substance use disorder: Survey of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (2026) · cites this paper as McNeely et al., 2013

    The Results section, “Screening and assistance for users of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs” (page unavailable), says verbal screening was conducted more often for tobacco than for alcohol or illicit drugs, supporting the claimed pattern. It does not give the cited 78%, 44%, and 33% figures in the available passage; its figures for respondents who considered screening important are instead 99%, 92%, and 93%. The Methods section also distinguishes attitudes toward screening from reports of routine verbal screening, so the claim's wording ‘endorsed routine screening’ is not established. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • A decade ago, McNeely and colleagues conducted a similar benchmarking survey among PEARL network members.

    “A decade ago, McNeely and colleagues (2013) conducted a similar benchmarking survey among members of the former PEARL practice-based research network, assessing the prevalence with which dentists endorsed “routinely ask(ing) patients verbally about [tobacco use, alcohol use, illicit or street drug use].””

    From Dental screening, counseling, and referral to treatment for substance use disorder: Survey of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (2026) · cites this paper as McNeely et al., 2013

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Cited by

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Authors
McNeely, J., Wright, S., Matthews, A. G., Rotrosen, J., Shelley, D., Buchholz, M. P., & Curro, F. A.
Affiliations
  • New York University (US)
  • Emmes (United States) (US)
  • VA NY Harbor Healthcare System (US)
Corresponding author
McNeely, Jennifer
ORCID
Venue
The Journal of the American Dental Association
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-06
Volume
144
Issue
6
Pages
627-638
ISSN
0002-8177 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.14219/jada.archive.2013.0174
PMC
PMC3699308
OpenAlex
W15226531
Cited by
39
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2
FWCI
1.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • The Journal of the American Dental Association (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • York University
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (U10DA013035, U10DA013046, U10 DA13035, L30 DA027429, K23DA030395)
  • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (U01DE016755)
  • National Center for Research Resources (KL2RR029891)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Dental Health and Care Utilization
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Health Promotion and Cardiovascular Prevention
Keywords
substance use screening, dental practice, dentists, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, substance use counseling, referral, barriers to intervention, reimbursement, publicly insured patients
MeSH terms
Smoking Prevention, Adult, Aged, Attitude of Health Personnel, Counseling, Dentists, Education, Dental, Female, Health Services Accessibility, Humans, Male, Mass Screening, Medical History Taking, Middle Aged, Referral and Consultation, Reimbursement Mechanisms, Illicit Drugs, Substance Abuse Detection, Smoking Cessation, Public Sector, Practice Patterns, Dentists', Substance-Related Disorders, Alcohol-Related Disorders, Evidence-Based Dentistry, Community-Based Participatory Research

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