Medical emergencies in the dental office are an unavoidable part of the profession. Even though precautions to prevent such events are undertaken, these events are inevitable and the dental practitioner must be prepared. Emergencies can range from relatively benign conditions to life-threatening situations. Although uncommon, major emergencies, including cardiac, pulmonary, and neurologic events, can occur. The dentist must be able to manage such situations until emergency medical responders arrive to the clinic. Medications administered can also cause adverse reactions intraoperatively or even postoperatively. This course will provide the dental practitioner with an overview of emergency adjuncts and medications.

This intermediate level course, appropriate for dental professionals, discusses oral leukoplakia, oral erythroplakia, oral lichen planus, oral submucous fibrosis and proliferative verrucous leukoplakia, their clinical presentation, and how to diagnose and manage these potentially malignant disorders.

This intermediate level course for healthcare professionals is an introduction into the complex crime of human trafficking, with a focus on sex and labor trafficking and the common symptoms and conditions that occur in trafficked persons. The course provides insights into the facts surrounding human trafficking and relevant health risks for the trafficked person.

This course will discuss ways in which healthcare providers can incorporate humor into care of individuals and their families. To support the suggestions regarding humor in practice, this text offers discussion of various studies pointing out the efficacy of humor in health care. The target population for this basic-level course is any dental professional who works with patients, as well as any healthcare provider who wants to improve his or her knowledge of therapeutic humor.

Dentists must observe microscopic attention to detail in the use of both materials and techniques to achieve the clinical and aesthetic excellence that their patients seek. With higher expectations in quality dental cosmetics, the need for function-with little to no intervention- has created a challenge with many clinicians.

This basic-level course, designed for all dental team members, explains the basics of incorporating magnification into dental practice. The course describes the evolving use of magnification in the field of dentistry. The concept of the magnification continuum is also explained, and the challenges of incorporating magnification into daily dental practice are identified.

Infection control is vital to the safe, effective treatment of patients in the dental office. This basic-level course is a refresher for dental healthcare professionals on infection control, cross contamination, and instrument sterilization techniques. Areas addressed include infection control guidelines; understanding standard versus universal precautions; sterilization and disinfection of patient care items; goals for ensuring disease containment through proper instrument recirculation techniques; handling of contaminated instruments from the treatment room through precleaning, cleaning, and preparation for sterilization; the most commonly used (and accepted) methods of dental instrument sterilization; environmental infection control; dental unit waterlines, biofilm, and water quality; and other infection control considerations.

Collaboration among caregivers can help to improve the management of chronic diseases. For example, dentists already act as de facto oral physicians, playing a pivotal role in monitoring medical conditions such as hypertension during patient visits. Dentists, therefore, can be a valuable medical resource.

This basic-level course, appropriate for dentists, hygienists, and dental assistants, reviews chronic care models relating to different chronic diseases and the ways that these models lead to improved treatment outcomes for the dental and medical patient.

This is a basic laser operations course for every member of the dental team. This course provides outlines for safety regulations, discusses varying laser instruments, and the unique effects of laser energy on oral tissue. It also compares benefits and drawbacks of laser use. Several different clinical procedures are included with raw photo documentation. Every laser device is especially designed for a unique dental condition. A practicing clinician must understand each these devices and their power to interact with their target tissues. Whether the laser is removing decay, reshaping the gingiva, removing lesions or used in a whitening procedure, the same underlying principle of laser use apply. In this course, the fundamental principle taught is that the least amount of energy or power should be used to reach the specific treatment outcome.

The ability to light cure dental resins “on demand” in the mouth has revolutionized modern dentistry. Consequently the dental light curing unit (LCU) has become an indispensable piece of equipment in almost every dental office. Despite its routine use, the curing light and how it should be used is not well understood by most operators. This intermediate-level course discusses the current knowledge of dental curing lights and their use in dentistry.

Most current dental school curricula do not give dental students the appropriate knowledge base and clinical eperience to treat OSA patient. This recently updated Intermediate-level course discusses the latest evidence-based diagnostic approaches for OSA and outlines recommeneded treatment strategies..

An odontogenic infection is an infection of the alveolus, jaws, or face that originates from a tooth or from its supporting structures and is one of the most frequently encountered infections. This advanced-level course will examine common types and causes of odontogenic infections and discuss treatments available.

Older adults generally have multiple medical problems, and no single medical issue can be evaluated and treated in isolation. Approximately 75 million people in the United States have two or more conditions that last a year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living, or both.

In order to treat this population effectively, collaboration with the patient’s nonoral healthcare professionals such as their primary care provider, family members, and social workers, among others, is necessary in order to coordinate care and deliver optimal treatment.

A variety of physiologic, anatomic, and hormonal changes accompany pregnancy and affect how oral health care is provided. Unfortunately, dentists, physicians, and patients often misunderstand and avoid oral health care issues during and after pregnancy. This basic-level course will address current concepts regarding oral health in pregnant women and the impact of their oral health on pregnancy outcomes and early childhood health. It will also discuss strategies to optimize oral health during pregnancy.

Oral health encompasses the craniofacial complex and includes the teeth, periodontium, mucosa, gingiva, oral pharynx, temporomandibular joints, and muscles used for mastication. While men and women face many common oral health issues, it is no longer acceptable to consider oral health to be gender neutral. Indeed, women differ from men in their oral health needs and concerns. This basic-level course explores the variables affecting Women’s oral health and discusses the issues and concerns that dental professionals face in providing care to their female patients.

Oral mucosal infections are on the rise due to many factors, including an aging population, systemic disease, the use of immunosuppressive drugs and with that the rise of opportunistic infections. This intermediate-level course appropriate for dental professionals, reviews oral bacterial infections that are not commonly seen in dental practices, as well as specimen collection and transportation, and medication management of these diseases.

Both periodontal disease and osteoporosis are serious public-health concerns in the United States. This intermediate-level course addresses concepts regarding links between oral health and osteoporosis, discusses the impact on oral health of pharmacotherapies used in the treatment of osteoporosis, and outlines steps to mitigate the impact on oral health of common drug treatments used to treat osteoporosis. Oral healthcare providers must recognize the oral health implications of common therapeutic options for osteoporosis, especially use of bisphosphonates and antiresorptive medications.

The American Dental Association recognizes that early childhood caries is a significant public health problem in selected populations and is also found throughout the general population.

This basic level course, appropriate for dentists, hygienist and assistants reviews conventional early childhood caries management and discusses the need for unconventional providers and community workers as effective partners in the prevention and management of this disease.

This intermediate-level course will provide an overview of the significant effect of the social determinants of oral health on children, including socioeconomic status (SES), family structure, social environment, culture and healthcare delivery systems. The course will also examine the significant oral health inequalities that exist among children and the importance of social environment on oral health outcomes.

Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the lip, oral cavity, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, nasopharynx, and larynx. About 40% of head and neck cancers occur in the oral cavity, 15% in the pharynx, 25% in the larynx, and the remaining 20% are in the salivary glands and thyroid. Overall, they account for more than 500,000 cases annually worldwide. This advanced-level course will examine the risk factors, causes, and recent research associated with these cancers.

Oral healthcare professionals (OHCPs) are routinely involved with the selection and prescription of medications for their patients. This course is designed to help them become better-informed prescribers of the top three drug classes employed in dentistry: antibiotics, analgesics, and local anesthetics. This intermediate-level course is specifically designed for all members of the dental healthcare team: dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants. Since the goal of providing medication in dentistry is to ensure selection of the right drug at the right time and at the right dose for the right patient and the right procedure, the information presented in this course should be considered essential knowledge for all OHCPs, both seasoned and newly credentialed.

Across the United States, dentists prescribe 10.4% of all outpatient antibiotics, making them the top antibiotic prescribers after primary care physicians. After completing this intermediate-level course, the participant will be able to discuss the differences among antibiotics typically prescribed for orofacial infections. The principles learned will also be directly applicable to the appropriate selection of antimicrobial therapy for the pregnant or breastfeeding patient and will aid in recognizing those patients with a significant allergic history and how to best and safely treat them.

Oral healthcare professionals are routinely involved with the selection and prescription of analgesics to address orofacial pain. Upon completing this intermediate-level course, the learner will be able to discuss the differences among analgesics typically prescribed for orofacial pain This updated 2018 edition incorporates the findings of these latest research papers as well as current guidelines from regulatory and professional authorities, while continuing to emphasize the founding principles of appropriate analgesic prescribing.

Oral healthcare professionals are routinely involved with the selection and prescription of Local Anesthetics to address orofacial pain. Upon completing this intermediate-level course, the learner will be able to discuss the differences among Local Anesthetics typically prescribed for orofacial pain This updated 2018 edition incorporates the findings of these latest research papers as well as current guidelines from regulatory and professional authorities, while continuing to emphasize the founding principles of appropriate Local Anesthetics prescribing.