Doctors

ADA Breaking Down Barriers to Oral Health for All Americans: Repairing the Tattered Safety Net

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On August 12, 2011, the American Dental Association (ADA) released the second paper in their series of papers on access to oral health. The paper is available for download from the ADA at http://www.ada.org/sections/advocacy/pdfs/breaking-down-barriers.pdf The first paper released on February 22, 2011, was titled Breaking Down Barriers to Oral Health for All Americans: The Role of Workforce as available for download from the ADA at http://www.ada.org/sections/advocacy/pdfs/ada_workforce_statement.pdf. I have previously commented on this first paper here https://blog.teethremoval.com/breaking-down-barriers-to-oral-health-for-all-americans-ada-workforce-statement/ Like the first paper, in the opening of the document is a message from Raymond Gist, D.D.S. and President of the American Dental Association. In this message Dr. Gist states “…increasing numbers of Americans find themselves unable to pay for dental care….For this growing population, the so-called oral health safety net is the only recourse for preventing and treating oral disease….the general definition of safety net … Read more

Health Care Costs in America

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I came across a very interesting graphic illustrating many of the myths and facts about healthcare in the United States. The graphic illustrates some reasons for the high costs of healthcare including the myths and the truths. The myths include 1) americans smoke and drink too much, 2) america has a larger elderly population, 3) obseity in america skyrockets costs, 4) malpractice is out of control. I actually slightly disagree with #3 and #4. I think being obese in the U.S. is a real problem, see this graph from the OECD. Further one has to account for defensive medicine (as in doctors being scared of getting sued  and ordering more tests than really needed) in malpractice lawsuits. Graph below illustrates the % obese in each country shown. Source: OECD Factbook 2010: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics. I believe the truths … Read more

The Lack of Importance of Research in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Programs

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A current article in press 2011 (at the time of this writing) will appear in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The article is titled Attitudes and Opinions of Residency Directors and Residents About the Importance of Research in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residences by Ali E. Mohammad, Al M. Best, and Daniel M. Laskin. The conclusion of the article is quite grim The failure of all residency programs to provide actual research experience for their trainees has resulted in a decrease in the contributions that such programs have traditionally made to the literature and the advancement of the speciality. It is important that steps be taken to reverse this trend. The article describes a study that was conducted to determine the research status done by residents in oral and maxillofacial surgery training programs.  A questionnaire was developed for … Read more

Odonto.me

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I wanted to let those who might be interested know about a new web targeting towards those who need to manage their dental practice called odonto.me. Since this is a web app it is accessible for computers, laptops, iPads, iPhones and other tablets and phones with internet access. It has a datebook, allows you to add multiple doctors to your practice, allows you to add multiple users, allows you to add patients (500 patients free) and potential treatments options. Below is a screenshot of most of the current treatment options. I currently have 9 invites to give out. If you are interested use the code TEETHREMOVAL at the signup URL  https://my.odonto.me/signup. If you end up trying it out let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Breaking Down Barriers to Oral Health for All Americans – ADA Workforce Statement

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Today (February 22, 2011) the American Dental Association (ADA) issued a 16 page document titled Breaking Down Barriers to Oral Health for All Americans: The Role of Workforce. This can be downloaded on the ADA website at http://www.ada.org/sections/advocacy/pdfs/ada_workforce_statement.pdf The document is intended as the first in a series of documents which will be subsequently released intended to help improve the oral health of Americans who may not currently have proper access to dental care. In the opening of the document is a message from Raymond Gist, D.D.S. and President of the American Dental Association. In this message Dr. Gist states “As the nation’s leading advocate for oral health, the ADA believes that we can and will reach the day when no American who needs and seeks the care that leads to good oral health will be denied. We believe that … Read more