On the heels of new research showing that dental prescriptions of opioid painkillers was rising during a time when overall opioid prescriptions were declining, the American Dental Association announced support March 26 for a legal limit of seven days for such prescriptions.

To date, the American Medical Association has not backed a limit, saying the decision should be made on a case-by-case basis, The Hill newspaper reported.

The research, published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, showed that dental opioid prescriptions from 2010-2015 rose fastest among 11 to 18 year olds, an at-risk group for addiction.

"As president of the ADA, I call upon dentists everywhere to double down on their efforts to prevent opioids from harming our patients and their families," ADA board President Joseph Crowley said in a statement. "This new policy demonstrates ADA's firm commitment to help fight the country's opioid epidemic while continuing to help patients manage dental pain."

The new policy drew qualified praise from Andrew Kolodny, co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University.

"Limiting quantity as opposed to duration would have been better," he told CBS News. But he added, "[The new policy] suggests the dentists are stepping up to the plate. It's a worthwhile effort because overprescribing for acute pain is a big deal."

"Dentists are the number one opioid prescriber for adolescents and the prescribing rates were already though the roof," said Kolodny, adding that the crisis was well underway when dental prescriptions were rising. "By 2010 the CDC had already announced the [opioid] epidemic."

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