Prescribing and Dispensing Drugs
The College is frequently asked about the use of prescription drugs in dentistry.
- Practitioners who can prescribe drugs under the Health Professions Act include dentists with a full, academic or restricted to specialty registration. Non-practising, retired or suspended practitioners, or those with a special permit for screening patients in long term care facilities, cannot prescribe drugs.
The College's Policy Statement on Prescribing and Dispensing of Drugs contains practise parameters and standards that should be considered by registrants in the care of their patients.
The Controlled Prescription Program was established to prevent forgeries and reduce inappropriate prescribing of selected drugs.
Dentists who wish to prescribe any of the monitored drugs must subscribe to the Controlled Prescription Program by ordering their duplicate prescription forms through the College. Prescription forms are personalized and numerically recorded, and the prescription pad must be maintained intact in chronological order.