Many dental patients have special preventive needs related to dental caries and periodontal disease, and most patients with intellectual or physical disabilities have specialized needs. This article suggests that these needs often go overlooked. To best care for patients with these needs, the dental practitioner should identify special oral hygiene needs among his or her patients, provide them ...

BACKGROUND The bulk of service delivery in dentistry is delivered by general dental practitioners, when a large proportion of patients who attend regularly are asymptomatic and do not require treatment. This represents a substantial and unnecessary cost, given that it is possible to delegate a range of tasks to dental care professionals, who are a less expensive resource. Screening for the comm...

Although pain of dental origin is the most common orofacial pain, other non-odontogenic pains can affect the orofacial region and occasionally mimic dental pain. These non-odontogenic pains may pose a diagnostic dilemma for the dental practitioner who routinely diagnoses and treats dental pain. Knowledge of the various non-odontogenic pains will ultimately prevent misdiagnosis and the delivery ...

PURPOSE To assess California dental hygiene educators' perceptions of an application of the American Dental Hygienists' Association's (ADHA) advanced dental hygiene practitioner model (ADHP) in medical settings where the advanced dental hygiene practitioner collaborates in medical settings with other health professionals to meet clients' oral health needs. METHODS In 2014, 30 directors of Cal...

Purpose The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recognizes that there are pediatric dental patients for whom routine dental care using nonpharmacologic behavior guidance techniques is not a viable approach.1 The AAPD intends this guideline to assist the dental practitioner who elects to use anesthesia personnel for the administration of deep sedation/general anesthesia for pediatric ...

PURPOSE To assess the instruction of pathology content in entry-level and advanced practitioner dental hygiene educational programs and the program directors' perceptions whether their graduates are adequately prepared to meet the increasingly complex medical and oral health needs of the public. METHODS A 28-question survey of instructional content and perceptions was developed and distribute...

BACKGROUND The incidence of oral cancer is increasing in the United Kingdom. Early detection of oral cancers makes them more amenable to treatment and allows the greatest chance of cure. Delay in presentation and/or referral has a significant effect on the associated morbidity and mortality. Lack of general medical practitioner and general dental practitioner oral cancer knowledge has been show...

PURPOSE The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the geographic distribution of pediatric dentists in private practice across the United States; and (2) compare state-based pediatric dental practitioner-to-children ratios. METHODS Enumeration of pediatric dental practitioners was derived from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's 2000-01 Membership Directory by including al...