Getting a prescription for an opioid painkiller from your dentist could put you or your family at risk for an overdose, a new study warns. The finding is based on an analysis of data from 8.5 million Americans who had teeth pulled or 119 other types of dental work between 2011 and 2018. All had…  read on >  read on >

Just 2% of young dental patients without COVID-19 symptoms tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to a new study. Kids with COVID-19 are typically asymptomatic but can carry high levels of SARS-CoV-2 and spread it to others, University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) researchers noted. Their study included 921 patients, aged 2 to 18, who…  read on >  read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes, a move that the agency has tried before and one that public health experts and civil rights groups have pushed for years. Menthol cigarettes have been marketed aggressively to Black Americans for decades: About 85% of Black smokers use menthol brands,…  read on >  read on >

The Biden administration has eased guidelines for prescribing a crucial addiction treatment drug, just as a new study reveals one in five U.S. pharmacies refuses to dispense the medication, called buprenorphine. “Buprenorphine is a vital, lifesaving medication for people with opioid use disorder, but improving access has been a problem for a variety of reasons,”…  read on >  read on >

A breakthrough psoriasis drug is better at treating the itchy and painful skin disease than medicines already on the market, according to results from two clinical trials. There was a “night and day difference” in the results from bimekizumab compared against two established psoriasis drugs, secukinumab (Cosentyx) and adalimumab (Humira), said Dr. Mark Lebwohl, a…  read on >  read on >