The New MATE Act from the DEA - The GDA Has You Covered

• The neurobiology of addiction (substance use disorders) and criteria for the different levels of SUDs according to the DSM-V.  
• Use of validated screening tools for SUD and risk factors for substance use, including mental disorders.
• Diagnosis and assessment of individuals who screen positive for SUDs.
• Discuss the FDA-approved medications for SUDs (opioids, alcohol and tobacco), including the impact of unique, individual physiology and metabolism on medication pharmacodynamics.
• Consideration of polysubstance use and co-occurring mental disorders.
• Patient and family education on safety and overdose prevention (diversion control; safe storage; use of naloxone). 

• Discuss the effects stress, anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, and substance abuse can have on our mental health and how it may affect our lives.
• Explore the impact and potential interactions associated mental health illness and substance use disorders.
• Define burnout and its applicability to the dental office with recommended solutions addressing the Six (6) Burnout Mismatches found in our offices and personal lives that may lead to substance use.

• The assessment of patients with acute, subacute, or chronic pain focusing on acute dental pain management.
• Components of developing an effective treatment plan, including general principles underlying nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic analgesic therapy, as well as the importance of multidisciplinary treatment interventions.
• Recognizing signs of OUD in the setting of prescribed opioids and how to manage dental patients presenting with these conditions.
• Practical information specific for the dentist on managing a person in recovery (abstinence) and a person still using illicit drugs requiring an opioid for dental pain management.

• The assessment of patients with acute, subacute, or chronic pain focusing on acute dental pain management.
• Components of developing an effective treatment plan, including general principles underlying nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic analgesic therapy, as well as the importance of multidisciplinary treatment interventions.
• Recognizing signs of OUD in the setting of prescribed opioids and how to manage dental patients presenting with these conditions.
• Practical information specific for the dentist on managing a person in recovery (abstinence) and a person still using illicit drugs requiring an opioid for dental pain management.

• Graduated from the University of North Carolina (Adams) School of Dentistry and completed a two year General Practice Residency at the Medical University of South Carolina.
• Received the Academy of General Dentistry’s coveted Fellowship and Mastership, and most recently the prestigious AGD Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition Award.
• Earned a certificate in Chemical Dependency Counseling from Union College.
  Appointed as a Consultant to the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs for 2022 – 2023.
• Past Consultant and Board Member of the Dental Well-Being Advisory Committee of the American Dental Association in Chicago (2016 – 2021).
• Contributor to textbook: Diagnosis and Treatment Planning In Dentistry, 4th Edition, by Drs. Stefanac and Nesbit, to be released in hardback and eBook in early 2023.
  Panelist for the ADA 2022 “Management of Acute Dental Pain Clinical Practice Evidence-based Guideline”.
• Appointed Executive Director of the North Carolina Caring Dental Professionals in 2022.
• Recipient of the C.V. Winter Advocacy Award from the North Carolina Caring Dental Professionals.
• Awarded the 2022 NC Dental Society Meritorious Achievement Award.
  Recipient of the 2022 UNC Dental Alumni Association Board of Directors Distinguished Service Award.
• Will present at the 2023 Annual Session of the Michigan Dental Association and the North Carolina Dental Society on Opioids, Cannabis, Substance Abuse, Mental Health and Burnout.
• eBook: Burnout and Perfectionism: Are They Inevitable? - available on Amazon.com / Amazon Kindle.
• Written articles for the peer-reviewed journal,                         
  “Decisions in Dentistry”, on 
  • Adolescent Opioid Exposure in Dentistry
  • How Digital Technology Can Mitigate Stress and Burnout
  • Substance Use Disorders Among Dentists
  • Addressing Patient Marijuana Use in Today’s Dental Environment
  • Managing Burnout and Perfectionism in Dentistry
• Reviewer for the “Journal of Dental Education” since 2020 to present.
• Provides the continuing education course, “N. C. Dental Opioid Update Course” each year since 2017 for dental license renewal in North Carolina.
• Lectures in North Carolina and the U.S. on the Opioid Epidemic, the Marijuana Dilemma, Burnout, Perfectionism and Addiction.
• Webinars for the NCDS and ADA on Marijuana, the Opioid Epidemic, Stress and Burnout During the Covid Era, and Perfectionism.
• Lectured at the 2022 NC Dental Society Annual Session, the 2019 ADA’s Dental Health and Wellness National Conference in Chicago.
• Presented at the Southeastern Conference on Addiction and Behavioral Health, the Annual Session of the Colorado Dental Association, the Tennessee Dental Wellness Foundation, and the NC Dental Hygiene Association Annual Meeting on burnout, perfectionism, substance use disorders, and the Opioid Epidemic.
• Key Opinion Leader for Dentsply Sirona since 2017.
  Writes for several dental publications and online magazines about digital dentistry, endodontics, and cone beam technology.
• Contributor for “Ask Bill” on www.digitalenamel.com, where he addresses current and relevant issues facing dentists today, including substance abuse, perfectionism and professional burnout.
• Bill and his wife Lisa enjoy life with their two children, William and Jennifer, and their Jack Russell Terrier, Bailey.

Likely. The requirement applies to all DEA registration submissions (Schedules II, III, IV, and V)—regardless of whether it is an initial registration or a renewal registration—beginning on or after June 27, 2023. The only exceptions are veterinarians and those who will not be obtaining or renewing a DEA registration. 

At the time of your next scheduled DEA registration submission (but not before June 27, 2023), registrants must: 
• Complete eight hours of qualified training on safe controlled substance prescribing. 
• Check a box on your registration submission affirming that you have completed required training. 
• Retain copies of all certificates of completion.
This applies regardless of whether a registrant is completing their initial registration application or renewing their registration. It also applies to all drug schedules (Schedules II, III, IV, and V). 
Those who are less than five years out of dental school should contact their school for certificates showing completion of any qualifying coursework. They may also need to complete additional training if their qualifying coursework totals less than eight hours.

Compliance is required by the time of your next scheduled DEA registration submission — regardless of whether it is an initial registration or a renewal registration — but not before June 27, 2023. For example, if you renew on June 26, 2023, compliance is not required until the next renewal. 

To qualify, the coursework must meet three criteria: 
• The course must be an approved topic. 
• The course must be conducted through an approved medium. 
• The course must be delivered by a designated training provider. 
First, the course must cover some aspect of the safe pharmacological management of dental pain and screening, brief intervention, and referral for appropriate treatment of patients with or at risk of developing opioid and other substance use disorders. The subject matter is broadly defined. 
Second, the training may take the form of classroom situations, seminars at professional society meetings, electronic communications, or otherwise. The ADA is seeking clarification about whether reading a journal article for continuing education credit would count toward the 
requirement. 
Finally, the course(s) must be delivered by a designated training provider. The GDA, ADA, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), and ADA CERP providers are designated training providers. 

Some important items to note: 
• Certificates of completion are required, but formal continuing education credit is not. 
• Qualified coursework completed before the law's passage is eligible. 
• Qualified coursework completed in dental school is eligible for those less than five years out of dental school. 

Yes. In addition to the live and on-demand webinar series above, we are working toward offering 8 hours of opioid training at the GDA Bridging the Gap CE Summit September 22-24 in Atlanta.
 
* * * IMPORTANT * * *
Before taking new courses, note that past trainings from recognized groups can be used to satisfy requirement. In other words, if you received a relevant training from one of the recognized groups—prior to the enactment of this new training obligation on December 29, 
2022—that training counts towards the eight-hour requirement. 
DEA has confirmed there is no statute of limitations for past coursework to qualify. 
Also note that relevant dental school coursework counts toward the federally required training for those who are less than five years out of dental school. 

DEA has indicated it does not plan to audit or investigate prescribers based solely on compliance with this training requirement. However, the agency may check for certificates of completion when investigating a prescriber for some other infraction. 

Registrants will need to check a box on their DEA registration submission—regardless of whether it is an initial registration or a renewal registration—affirming they have completed the required training. 
Prescribers should retain copies of all certificates of completion. Recent graduates should contact their dental school for completion certificates. Recent graduates will also need to take supplemental training if their qualifying dental school courses total less than eight hours. 
DEA currently has no plans to create a platform that will allow prescribers to upload and store certificates of completion.

No. Additional training is not required after the one-time, 8-hour requirement has been satisfied. Sec. 1263 specifically states, “The Attorney General shall not require any qualified practitioner to complete the training…more than once.”

Likely. The requirement applies to all DEA registration submissions—regardless of whether it is an initial registration or a renewal registration—beginning on or after June 27, 2023. If you do not intend to apply for a DEA registration, you are not affected. 
Note that the law permits relevant dental school coursework to count toward the training requirement for those who are less than five years out of dental school. DEA has stated it is relying on dental schools to hand out certificates documenting completion of any qualifying coursework.

No. Certificates of completion are required, but formal continuing education credit is not. 

No. The same eight hours of training can be recycled for multiple DEA registrations.

Yes - GDA is an ADA CERP provider and is therefore approved. The course(s) must be provided only by the organizations listed in the statute. The recognized organizations are: 
• American Dental Association 
• American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 
• ADA CERP-recognized providers (i.e., any organization recognized by the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition, or CCEPR)and/or
• American Society of Addiction Medicine
• American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry 
• American Medical Association 
• American Osteopathic Association 
• American Psychiatric Association 
• Any organization accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) 
• Any organization accredited by a state medical society accreditor that is recognized by the ACCME or the CCEPR 
• Any organization accredited by the American Osteopathic Association to provide continuing education 
• Any organization approved by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, the ACCME, or the CCEPR

Yes. Past trainings from designated training organizations can count towards a practitioner meeting this requirement. In other words, if you received a relevant training from one of the recognized groups—prior to the enactment of this new training obligation on December 29, 2022—that training counts towards the eight-hour requirement. 
DEA has confirmed there is no statute of limitations for past trainings to satisfy the requirement.
Additionally, relevant dental school coursework counts toward the federally required training for those who are less than five years out of dental school. 
Certificates of completion are required. 

No. The training does not have to occur in one session. It can be cumulative across multiple sessions that equal eight hours of training. 

Yes. Training hours accepted for state licensure may be recycled to satisfy the DEA training requirement. Sec. 1263 specifically states, “Nothing in this subsection shall be construed…to preclude the use…of training…to satisfy registration requirements of a State or for some other lawful purpose.” 

Yes, but they are not likely. The federal requirement is a floor, not ceiling. Your state may impose additional training requirements. Sec. 1263 specifically states, “Nothing in this subsection shall be construed…to preempt any additional requirements by a State related to the dispensing of controlled substances under schedule II, III, IV, or V.”

No. Dental prescribers are not required to complete coursework on controlled substance prescribing topics that are outside their scope of practice (e.g., medication-assisted treatment). The ADA was successful in lobbying to remove this requirement from the original bill.

Please contact GDA Vice President of Education and Training at scottp@gadental.org or 404-636-7553.