This report is the twelfth assessment of the National Institutes of Health National Research Service Awards program. The research training needs of the country in basic biomedical, clinical, and behavioral and social sciences are considered. Also included are the training needs of oral health, nursing, and health services research. The report has been broadly constructed to take into account the rapidly evolving national and international health care needs. The past and present are analyzed, and predictions with regard to future needs are presented.
Six dental schools have closed in the last decade and others are in jeopardy. Facing this uncertainty about the status of dental education and the continued tension between educators and practitioners, leaders in the profession have recognized the need for purpose and direction. This comprehensive volumeâ€"the first to cover the education, research, and patient care missions of dental schoolsâ€"offers specific recommendations on oral health assessment, access to dental care, dental school curricula, financing for education, research priorities, examinations and licensing, workforce planning, and other key areas. Well organized and accessible, the book: Recaps the evolution of dental practice and education. Reviews key indicators of oral health status, outlines oral health goals, and discusses implications for education. Addresses major curriculum concerns. Examines health services that dental schools provide to patients and communities. Looks at faculty and student involvement in research. Explores the relationship of dental education to the university, the dental profession, and society at large. Accreditation, the dental workforce, and other critical policy issues are highlighted as well. Of greatest interest to deans, faculty, administrators, and students at dental schools, as well as to academic health centers and universities, this book also will be informative for health policymakers, dental professionals, and dental researchers.
Clinical Research in Oral Health surveys the essentials of clinical research in oral health, anchoring these principles within the specific context of the oral health arena. Addressing research questions exclusively applicable to dentistry and oral health, the book thoroughly illustrates the principles and practice of oral health clinical research. Clinical Research in Oral Health also clarifies the framework of regulatory issues and presents emerging concepts in clinical translation, relating the research principles to clinical improvement.
"The aim of this book is to give practical guidance on the safe dental management of patients with special needs and to highlight which patients should be referred for specialist care. Patient conditions are listed alphabetically, with dental management being discussed under standardised headings. Summary tables for each condition provide a source of quick reference, and the final section of the book discusses orofacial problems such as caries, tooth erosion, dry mouth and bruxism."--BOOK JACKET.
It prepares readers for the daunting task of identifying and accessing the information they need in the dental literature, reading it from a critical vantage point, and applying formal rules and measurements to assess the soundness of the author's conclusions. The author introduces issues of logic, statistics, measurement, research design, and argument and explores their specific application in dental research reports. Featuring new chapters on scientific rhetoric and a guide to the dental literature, as well as significantly expanded chapters on statistics, this completely revised edition is ideal for anyone who wishes to become a more discerning reader of dental literature.
Looking into your mouth is like looking under the hood of your car. Both are dark and mysterious places. Unfortunately, unlike your car, your mouth did not come with a guide to operation and repair. This book can serve as an "owner's manual," for it was written for those who hope to understand the mouth and how to keep it healthy. It will introduce what is in the mouth and how to take proper care of it. From its outline of the anatomy of the mouth to its discussions of contemporary dental research and technology, this book offers insight into the processes that determine dental health. It details daily oral hygiene and maintenance aimed at reducing the occurrence of common oral maladies. Also explained is the dentist's role in prevention and treatment, as well as the costs of dental care. Virtually all persons are affected by dental diseases of some sort. Many dental problems, especially bad breath, gum disease, and cavities, are almost entirely preventable. Whether it is for bleeding gums, cavities, crooked teeth, impacted wisdom teeth, stains, a host of other problems, or just a periodic checkup, nearly everyone will spend time and money at the dentist's office. For those who are concerned about appropriate care of the mouth and the teeth this clearly written book will be useful. The principles of dental implants, cosmetic dentistry, and select technical innovations in dentistry are discussed and clearly explained. Also, a helpful list of dental schools that provide low-cost care and a list of resources for further information are included. Although this book is not meant to be comprehensive, it offers the firm foundation for having informed discussion with your dentist and for maintaining oral health for a lifetime.
An NPR Best Book of 2017 "[Teeth is] . . . more than an exploration of a two-tiered system—it is a call for sweeping, radical change." —New York Times Book Review "Show me your teeth," the great naturalist Georges Cuvier is credited with saying, "and I will tell you who you are." In this shattering new work, veteran health journalist Mary Otto looks inside America's mouth, revealing unsettling truths about our unequal society. Teeth takes readers on a disturbing journey into America's silent epidemic of oral disease, exposing the hidden connections between tooth decay and stunted job prospects, low educational achievement, social mobility, and the troubling state of our public health. Otto's subjects include the pioneering dentist who made Shirley Temple and Judy Garland's teeth sparkle on the silver screen and helped create the all-American image of "pearly whites"; Deamonte Driver, the young Maryland boy whose tragic death from an abscessed tooth sparked congressional hearings; and a marketing guru who offers advice to dentists on how to push new and expensive treatments and how to keep Medicaid patients at bay. In one of its most disturbing findings, Teeth reveals that toothaches are not an occasional inconvenience, but rather a chronic reality for millions of people, including disproportionate numbers of the elderly and people of color. Many people, Otto reveals, resort to prayer to counteract the uniquely devastating effects of dental pain. Otto also goes back in time to understand the roots of our predicament in the history of dentistry, showing how it became separated from mainstream medicine, despite a century of growing evidence that oral health and general bodily health are closely related. Muckraking and paradigm-shifting, Teeth exposes for the first time the extent and meaning of our oral health crisis. It joins the small shelf of books that change the way we view society and ourselves—and will spark an urgent conversation about why our teeth matter.
Access to oral health care is essential to promoting and maintaining overall health and well-being, yet only half of the population visits a dentist each year. Poor and minority children are less likely to have access to oral health care than are their nonpoor and nonminority peers. Older adults, people who live in rural areas, and disabled individuals, uniformly confront access barriers, regardless of their financial resources. The consequences of these disparities in access to oral health care can lead to a number of conditions including malnutrition, childhood speech problems, infections, diabetes, heart disease, and premature births. Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations examines the scope and consequences of inadequate access to oral health services in the United States and recommends ways to combat the economic, structural, geographic, and cultural factors that prevent access to regular, quality care. The report suggests changing funding and reimbursement for dental care; expanding the oral health work force by training doctors, nurses, and other nondental professionals to recognize risk for oral diseases; and revamping regulatory, educational, and administrative practices. It also recommends changes to incorporate oral health care into overall health care. These recommendations support the creation of a diverse workforce that is competent, compensated, and authorized to serve vulnerable and underserved populations across the life cycle. The recommendations provided in Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations will help direct the efforts of federal, state, and local government agencies; policy makers; health professionals in all fields; private and public health organizations; licensing and accreditation bodies; educational institutions; health care researchers; and philanthropic and advocacy organizations.
This book informs readers of the needs and rationale for the integration of medical and dental care and information with an international perspective as to how and where medical and dental care separated into specific domains. It provide high level guidance on issues involved with care and data integration and how to achieve an integrated model of health care supported by integrated HIT. A patient typically expects that a visit to a dentist can usually be resolved immediately. This expectation places a premium on instant, accurate, thorough, and current information. The state-of-the-art of fully integrated (dental-medical) electronic health record (EHR) is covered and this is contrasted with the current state of dental-medical software. While dentists in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the US Indian Health Service (IHS), or the US military, for example, have access to fully integrated health records, most US clinicians still gather information from separate sources via fax or phone calls. The authors provide an in-depth discussion of the role of informatics and information science in the articulation of medical and dental practices and clinical data with the focus on applied clinical informatics to improve quality of care, practice efficiency, coordination and continuity of care, communication between physicians and dentists and to provide a more comprehensive care for the patients. Lastly, the book examines advances in medical and dental research and how these may affect dentistry in the future. Most new advances in healthcare research are information-intensive.
