Clinical implications of drugs taken by our patients.

An awareness of the various medications commonly prescribed for patients to self-administer will assist clinicians to anticipate the most commonly encountered medical diagnoses; will give clues to a patient's physical and emotional ability to undergo and respond to dental care; will alert clinicians to potential drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, and to the presence of drug-induced illness; and provide invaluable information that will help the clinician identify high-risk patients who may experience a life-threatening medical emergency while in the dental office.