PHARMACOVIGILANCE: APPLICATION AND CHALLENGES FOR ODONTOSTOMATOLOGY HEALTH PRACTICE IN CAMEROON

Ashu Michael Agbor, Estella Achick Tembe-Fokunang, Lovet Benyella Fokunang, Dobgima John Fonmboh, Banin Andrew Nyuyki, Charles Ntungwen Fokunang

ABSTRACT

Drugs play a sisgnifacnt role in human wellbeing, through treatment, prevention and diagnosis of various diseases of public health interest. The safety, efficacy, quality of the drugs, vaccines or medical administration and their rationale use constitute the main focus of the populations’ use of drugs in prevention, treatment of their diseases and the prescription of these pharmaceutical products. The effective regulation of drugs is necessary to guarantee the safety, efficacy, quality, taccurate use and good communication of the available drug information to the public. Pharmcoviliglance is a vital instrument in public health care that supports the identification, assessment, monitoring and discovery of new chemical entities or new molecules for the benefit of the patients population. Pharmcovigilance serves for the detection and management of potential drug-drug interactions when the use of drugs with other drugs causes adverse drug reaction (Food-drug or herbal-drug interations) which can cause harm to humans. Dental practitioners are involved in the use of different drug for oral health management. There is the need for the Dentist to be aware of adverse drug effects and potential drug interactions with other xenobiotics exposed to their patients. Dental pharmacoviglance is still a new discipline for dentist involved in treating oral diseases, like parodontal and cariogenic pathologies. This write is an overview of the importance of pharmacovigilance in the Odontostomatology health practice with the focus of Cameroon.

Keywords: Adverse drug reaction, dentist, medicine, oral diseases, pharmcovigilance, side effects, Cameroon.