Oral Health Disparities in the United States
Oral health disparities refers to the existence of differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of oral diseases and other adverse health conditions, as well as the use of…
Improving and Maintaining Oral Health for People with Special Needs
The number of people in the United States population with disabilities and other special needs is growing dramatically. These individuals present unique challenges for oral health professionals in planning and…
Public Health Issues in Geriatric Dentistry in the United States
The aging United States population living in the new millennium has dental needs that are very different and more complex than those experienced by previous older adult cohorts during the…
Planning and Evaluating Community Oral Health Programs
Community oral-health programs focus primarily on populations, including those who do not seek oral health care. Planning these programs should include involvement of the community, broadly defined to include individuals…
Fluorides in Dental Public Health Programs
The use of fluorides in dental public health programs has a long history. With the availability of fluoridation and other forms of fluorides, dental caries have declined dramatically in the…
Oral Health Literacy: The New Imperative to Better Oral Health
Effective communication with patients is the cornerstone of quality dental care and oral health outcomes. Oral health literacy skills are critical to empowering individuals’ ability to improve their oral health….
Patient- and Population-Reported Outcomes in Public Health Dentistry: Oral Health-Related Quality of Life
At present no process is in place in the United States to comprehensively monitor the national burden of oral diseases from the perspective of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL),…
Multicultural Issues in Oral Health
Demographic changes over the coming decades will heighten the challenges to both the dental profession and the nation. The expected growth in the numbers of racial and ethnic minorities and…
Understanding Measurement of Dental Diseases and Research Participation in Practice Set-Up
A general understanding of the measurement of dental diseases can help practitioners in the process of assessing the patient’s future risk of disease. More importantly, as clinical studies shift from…
Financing Dental Care: Trends in Public and Private Expenditures for Dental Services
This article examines the financing of dental care in the United States. The major issues addressed include the amount and sources of funds, the reasons for increased dental care expenditures,…
The Practice and Infrastructure of Dental Public Health in the United States
Dental public health is a unique and challenging American Dental Association-recognized specialty because the patient is the entire community or population, such as a school, neighborhood, city, state, or the…
Oral Manifestations of Internal Malignancy and Paraneoplastic Syndromes
Malignant tumors of visceral organs are a fundamental feature of familial cancer and paraneoplastic syndromes. In many instances, the presence of an internal and often occult malignancy may be forewarned…
Considerations in the Pediatric Population with Cancer
This article is divided into three time periods according to the different phases of cancer treatment: pre, inter, and postcancer therapy. The purpose of dental protocols prior to cancer therapy…
Orofacial Pain and Neurosensory Disorders and Dysfunction in Cancer Patients
Orofacial pain and altered nerve sensation may be the initial sign of oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal cancer. This article focuses on the most common orofacial pain conditions and neurosensory alterations that…
Management of Oral Infections in Cancer Patien ts
The myelosuppressive and mucosal-damaging consequences of cancer and cancer therapies place patients at high risk for developing infectious complications. Bacterial, fungal, and viral infections are all commonly encountered in the…
Biophosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws
In 2003 and 2004, the first reports of patients who developed necrosis of the jawbones while taking biophosphonates appeared in literature; most patients were on this drug for treatment of…
Psychosocial and Economic Impact of Cancer
This article explores the psychosocial and economic implications of cancer and their relevance to the clinician. After a general overview of the topic, the authors focus on aspects of particular…
Oral Graft-Versus-Host Disease
Hematopoietic cell transplantation is used to treat malignancies, hematologic and immune deficiency states, marrow failure syndromes, and autoimmune diseases. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a clinical syndrome seen following allogeneic transplantation…
Management of Patients Who Have Undergone Head and Neck Cancer Therapy
Patients who undergo treatment for head and neck cancers often suffer from acute or late reactions to therapy. Severity of these oral complications may be based on the location and…
Management of Oral Mucositis in Patients Who Have Cancer
Oral mucositis is a clinically important and sometimes dose-limiting complication of cancer therapy. Mucositis lesions can be painful, affect nutrition and quality of life, and have a significant economic impact….
