over 170 million patients worldwide are chronically infected with hepatitis c virus ( hcv ); making it a globally important infection. dentists constantly handle sharp instruments infected with biological fluids and are therefore considered at high-risk of contracting hcv infection. needle-stick injuries seem to be the most common route of exposure to blood-borne pathogens in dental practice. m...

During my dental training, I was taught intraoral radiography using only rectangular collimation. Once out of the dental school in 1993, I realized that not many practices used rectangular collimators. Often-heard reasons for not using a rectangular collimator are cone-cutting errors and the fact that it is easier to aim with a circular collimator. Later, during my training as a dental and maxi...

Data from the 2010 Learners' Perceptions Survey (LPS) administered through the Office of Academic Affiliations, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) were analyzed to identify factors associated with dental residents' satisfaction with the VA as a clinical training environment. Satisfaction scores were linked to clinic workloads, dental procedure complexity levels, staffing patterns, and facility...

Tobacco is a significant risk factor for oral diseases. Dental care providers have the opportunity to inform patients about the risks associated with tobacco use and refer them to tobacco cessation resources. Although dental teams usually ask their patients about their tobacco use, most do not provide tobacco cessation counseling. This project involved four staff-model dental clinics and four c...

OBJECTIVES The study aimed at assessing the effect of low-level exposure to mercury (Hg) vapor from amalgam fillings among dental surgery staff in the city of Łódź, Poland. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study group was composed of 51 workers (mean age, 39.25+/-11.05 years) employed in dental surgeries; the control group comprised 16 white-collar workers (mean age, 40.05+/-10.57 years) of the Nofe...

Answering the telephone is an important first contact with the dental office. The voice tone, inflection and other non-verbal aspects of the person answering all have a profound impact on how the caller perceives the dental office. Suggestions are presented which are designed to avoid communication problems and to project a positive professional image to a caller. Audio clips are included to de...

The role of the dental team in caries management by risk assessment is critical to successful patient outcomes. Positive patient interactions and communication, proper appointment scheduling, diagnostics and data gathering, as well as implementation of noninvasive or minimally invasive procedures can be the responsibility of all members of the dental team. This article will evaluate the role of...