Association of sociodemographic factors with the prescription pattern of opioids for dental patients: A systematic review protocol

Abstract

Introduction Oral health practitioners are responsible for a significant share of opioid prescriptions that seem to be influenced by many aspects, including sociodemographic factors. However, there is no consensus on the factors associated with opioid prescription in Dentistry. Objective To identify whether patients' sociodemographic factors are associated with the prescription pattern of opioids in Dentistry. Materials and methods This systematic review will include observational studies (cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort). Electronic searches will be conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, Scopus, Web of science, LILACS, SciELO, and Google Scholar. Grey literature will also be consulted. Two independent reviewers will screen all retrieved articles for eligibility, extract data, and assess the methodological quality of the included studies. The results will be presented as a narrative synthesis and, where possible, a meta-analysis will be conducted. Certainty of the evidence will be assessed with the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach.