Table Clinics Offer View of Dentistry’s Future
By Debra Belt
What kind of intellectual and scientific innovations lie in the minds
of 21st century dental students?
The answers to this question and many more will be revealed at the Table Clinic Competition at the CDA Spring Scientific Session where more than 75 dental, dental hygiene, and dental assistant students from across the state will present their research.
This year, the table clinics have been extended to two days and will include research by military dentists. "There was an overwhelming response from participants this year, and CDA is pleased to offer the clinics on both Saturday and Sunday," said Sue Gardner, program coordinator for Scientific Sessions. This scheduling allows presentation of more than 70 table clinics and provides extended viewing time for those attending the session in Anaheim.
Military table clinic participants will have the floor in Exhibit Hall D of the Convention Center on Saturday, April 21, from noon to 2 p.m. Students from California’s five dental schools and many dental auxiliary schools will give their demonstrations on Sunday, April 22, from noon to 2 p.m.
The table clinics offer dental professionals the opportunity to survey students’ ideas and innovative techniques as well as gain one unit of continuing education credit. "The table clinics are another dimension of continuing education and offer practicing dentists a chance to extend their clinical awareness," said Ted Nakata, DDS, who has judged the competition for several years. Nakata notes the high level of academic pursuit in the table clinics and said students express great intellectual and scientific curiosity in their research.
"Dental professionals who attend the table clinics will see the future of dentistry," said Dennis Shinbori, DDS, chair of the Council on Scientific Sessions. "This is an opportunity to learn about the most up-to-date research and meet the talented new faces in dentistry."
In recent years, student table clinics have covered a broad spectrum of topics including testing the strength and adhesion of composite restorations, determining the development of the jaw by growth stages, and measuring bacteria in dental unit waterlines. In 1999, two Loma Linda students, Jerome Lee and Royce Nicola, won first place in the competition with a study of "The Antibacterial Effect of MTA mixed with Chlorhexidine or Tetracycline."
"This was an excellent topic for clinical application and very promising for treatment success in endodontics," Shinbori said.
The table clinics are judged by CDA member dentists and scored in three categories: subject matter, presentation, and table display. Students receive points for specifics such as timeliness, organization, scientific merit, brief and lucid presentation, professional decorum, and visual graphics. Judges work in teams so each clinic is surveyed by more than one team. In three rounds of judging, the group of 42 student table clinics will be narrowed to 10 to 12 semifinalists, and then four finalists will be selected in the categories of dental students, dental hygiene students, and dental assistant students. Cash prizes are awarded to first-, second-, and third-place winners; and each category has an honorable mention.
"I have never seen a bad table clinic," said Stephen Robin, DDS, who has judged the student presentations for the past four years. "The students are doing an intense amount of work and are engaging and professional."
Robin said some of the interesting clinics from past years include a comparison of tooth-whitening substances, testing of different solutions to eliminate the spread of herpesvirus, and studies of composite bonding techniques. "We are all interested in different things, and the table clinics appeal to a wide variety of interests ranging from cosmetic to clinical to dental materials."
Shinbori, Nakata and others involved say the quality and professionalism of the table clinics have been increasing. "It seems like students become more advanced in their studies each year," Shinbori said. He also noted the role of computer technology in the progressive quality and timeliness of clinic presentations. For instance, 1999 table clinic winner Melissa Wages created a Web site geared toward women’s oral health in an effort to promote awareness of oral health as it relates to overall well-being.
"The student research answers relevant questions and addresses contemporary issues," Nakata said. "It’s reassuring to be able to visit with students who are truly interested in their chosen profession."
Publisher Seeking Good Dental Stories
Have you got a great dental story? It might be worth $1,000.
Don Dible, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Dental Soul, is looking for stories, cartoons, poems, and quotes for his next book, Love is the Best Medicine for Dental Patients and the Dental Team.
Cash prizes of $1,000 will be awarded for the best story by a dentist, hygienist, and dental assistant. The book is expected to feature 102 stories. Each person who submits a winning story will earn 20 free copies of the book, and people who recommend quotes or who draw cartoons that are used will receive recognition in the Acknowledgment section.
The contest judges will be looking for "unforgettable true stories that will touch your heart, lift your spirits, heal your pain, make you laugh, and inspire you to celebrate the miracle of your humanity."
Unlike Chicken Soup for the Dental Soul, which was not sold in stores or by Internet retailers, Love Is the Best Medicine will be available to dental professionals and the general public through most retail channels.
Submissions may be mailed to Don Dible, Editor-in-Chief, DMD House, 1250 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 210, Sunnyvale, CA 94085; e-mailed to dondible@dmdhouse.net; or faxed to (408) 720-0624. The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2001.
Dentist Office Revenues Top $56 billion
Dental office revenue for 1999 increased at faster rate than revenue for health care overall, according to a Census Bureau report.
Revenue in dentists’ offices increased 6.1 percent to $56 billion in 1999, while revenue for the nation’s health care and social services sector increased 4 percent to $1.01 trillion.
The percentage gain for dentists’ offices was slightly higher than the 4.7 percent increase recorded for physicians’ offices (up to $202 billion) and 3.9 percent for hospitals (up to $4.13 billion) over the same period.
The health and social service estimates are part of the Census Bureau’s 1999 service annual survey report. The survey provides estimates of revenue and other measures for most service industries based on information provided by dentists and other service providers. The report was released at www.census.gov.
NIH Launches Source of Alternative Medicine Info
From meditation to magnets, the vast popularity of unconventional medical therapies has risen sharply over the past decade -- to the extent that in 1997, Americans spent an estimated $21 billion out of their own pockets for these treatments. People decide to use complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, for a variety of reasons; however, few CAM methods have been proven safe and effective.
Recognizing the need to provide authoritative CAM information, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the National Library of Medicine, two components of the National Institutes of Health, have partnered to launch a new CAM subset of a larger medical literature database that will provide free, Web-based access to CAM sources of information.
CAM on PubMed is a new subset of PubMed, a free system offered by the National Library of Medicine that provides an easy way to access more than 11 million citations and abstracts in the MEDLINE database and additional life science journals. MEDLINE covers nearly 4,500 journals published in the United States and more than 70 other countries.
CAM on PubMed provides direct access to more than 220,000 references and abstracts related to CAM, as well as provides access to many full-text articles.
"This joint venture will offer health professionals, CAM practitioners, researchers, educators, and consumers ready access to a comprehensive database of journal citations directly related to complementary and alternative medicine," said Donald A.B. Lindberg, MD, director of the National Library of Medicine.
For additional information about CAM on PubMed a question-and-answer fact sheet is provided at http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/feb2001/nccam-05.htm.
CDC Seeking to Cut U.S. HIV Infections in Half
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced a new program directed specifically at HIV-infected people and their partners to fight the spread of HIV.
The new approach to HIV prevention will involve intensive prevention outreach and services to those living with the disease. CDC estimates that new HIV infections could be cut in half in the United States by 2005, from an estimated 40,000 infections per year to 20,000 per year by:
* Sustaining current HIV prevention programs that target the estimated 5 million Americans at high risk for HIV infection; and
* Implementing intensive prevention outreach and services for the estimated 800,000 to 900,000 Americans currently living with HIV infection.
Rob Janssen, MD, director of CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention -- Surveillance and Epidemiology, outlined the scientific basis for the approach and its estimated impact.
SAFE, the Serostatus Approach to Fighting the HIV Epidemic, initially focuses on expanding voluntary counseling and testing programs to reach all individuals living with HIV infection, including the estimated 200,000 to 275,000 Americans who are infected with HIV but don’t yet know it. According to Janssen, there are several reasons to intensify efforts to reach infected individuals.
First, individuals who know they are infected can benefit from prophylaxis for opportunistic infections, monitoring of their immune status, antiretroviral therapy (when recommended), and, if needed, substance abuse and/or mental health treatment.
Second, studies indicate that after learning their HIV status, most infected individuals take steps to protect their partners.
Third, new HIV therapies, by lowering viral load, may reduce the degree of infectiousness. While antiretroviral therapy will not eliminate transmission of HIV, it could reduce it. At a population level, if risk behavior (condom use, sexual practices, and number of partners) remain unchanged, this reduction in transmissibility could significantly impact the course of the epidemic. Because antiretroviral therapy can have toxic and adverse physical side effects, decisions about when to initiate use of these drugs should be made by the person living with HIV in consultation with his or her physician.
Ranks of Overnourished Equal Number of Undernourished
The world is trading in malnutrition for a heart attack.
Data from the United Nations indicates that while 1.1 billion of the world’s 6.1 billion people receive too few calories, at least 1.1 billion eat too many, according to Gary Gardner, co-author of a Worldwatch Institute report on diet and physical activity. The rest get enough calories and exercise, but lack enough vitamins and minerals. Trends indicate that fat people may become the majority.
"We think that the number of overfed people on the planet is at its highest level," said co-author Brian Halweil, also of the Worldwatch Institute, an environmental research organization in Washington.
While agricultural advances have made food more available, that is not the only cause of the increase in flab. Technology has done its share by making it easier to get by on less work. Cars have replaced bikes, and TV viewing has replaced outdoor activity. "It’s almost unavoidable to be lazy," Halweil said.
Urbanization also has a role, according to Dr. Victor Matsudo of Sao Paulo, Brazil, a consultant on physical activity to the World Health Organization. In Brazil, for example, urbanization has brought streets that are unsafe to walk and buildings that have replaced vacant lots where soccer games were once played.
Efforts to increase physical activity need to be made on the community level, according the Michael Pratt of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Safe streets, pedestrian-oriented communities, and buildings that encourage stair-climbing instead of elevator riding are some of the changes needed in the United States and elsewhere.
"We are the worst or one of the worst, but there are a lot of other countries that are not far behind," Pratt said.
Web Watch
Health and Fitness
Are you or some of your patients among the estimated 1.1 billion people worldwide who are overweight? For sensible approaches to diet, nutrition and fitness, the following information sources may be accessed online:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/heal_eat.htm
Healthy eating tips from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They include restaurant and fast-food strategies.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/fnic.htm
A page from the Food and Nutrition Information Center from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Physical fitness news, forums, exercise diaries, and getting-started tips from the American Heart Association.
The Web site of Shape Up America, national initiative founded by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to promote healthy weight and increased physical activity in America.
Honors
Dennis A. Shanelec, DDS, has been inducted into the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry.
Upcoming Meetings
2001
April 18-20 The Periodontal-Systemic Connection: A State-of-the-Science Symposium, Bethesda, Md., (312) 787-5518, www.perio.org
April 19-22 CDA Scientific Session, Anaheim, (916) 443-3382, Ext. 4470
May 4-8 Australian Dental Congress, Brisbane, +61 (0) 7 3369 0477
May 18-20 California Society of Periodontists, San Francisco, (805) 962-7144
July 19-21 Forensic Dentistry 2001: A Symposium With Workshops, Chicago, (312) 440-2895
Sept. 14-16 CDA Scientific Session, San Francisco, (916) 443-3382, Ext. 4470
Sept. 27-Oct. 1 FDI World Dental Congress, + 44 207 935 7852, www.fdi.org.uk
Sept. 30-Oct. 3 Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Annual Session, Honolulu, (800) 445-8667
Oct. 25-28 American Society of Dental Aesthetics -- Silver Anniversary International Conference, New York, (800) 454-ASDA, www.asdatoday.com.
To have a meeting included on this list, please send the information to Upcoming Meetings, CDA Journal, P.O. Box 13749, Sacramento, CA 95853 or fax the information to (916) 443-2943.
