Clinical Dentistry

The clinical failure rate of posterior composites is nearly twice that of amalgam restorations, with secondary caries as the principal cause. It is now well accepted that restoring carious lesions does not affect caries disease incidence. The panel will review the current status of caries management as a chronic disease and the relative effectiveness of current restorative materials, before previewing a next-generation antimicrobial technology with the potential to change the prognosis for restorations, thus affecting disease outcomes.

Presentation 1: “Caries Balance and the Management of Biofilm for Effective Caries Treatment.”
Presenter: John Featherstone, PhD, MSc, Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus, UCSF School of Dentistry

Presentation 2: “Do Current Materials (GIs, SDF, ‘bioactives,’ antimicrobial desensitizers, calcium-release therapies) do Enough? What actually constitutes a ‘preventive’ restoration?”
Presenter: Brian Gray, DDS

Presentation 3: “Can Minimally Invasive Restoratives Truly Replace Amalgam, with the Help of New Non-leaching Antimicrobial Technologies? What impact Would that Have on Clinical Dentistry?”
Presenter: John Flucke, DDS

Learning Objectives

• Re-orient the clinician’s perspective of caries management and cariology. In certain individuals, why is it still rampant?
• Examine the benefits, limitations, and drawbacks of glass Ionomers, SDF, “bioactive” and other materials in the current caries armamentarium
• Discover how next-generation materials that contain non-leaching antimicrobial technology may improve the outcome of posterior restorations

Sponsored by nobio

ACE Panel Reports study 1: Posterior Composite Restoration

Description: This course provides clinical recommendation by experts in the field on when, why, and how a resin composite restoration should be repaired as opposed to being replaced. The ACE Panel report delivers the results of a study taken by 311 dentists surveyed on posterior composite restorations; bulk fill products vs. incremental products; top reasons to repair or replace a restoration.

ACE Panel Reports study 2: Bioactive Materials

Description: This course provides a complete in-depth definition of bioactive materials as suggested by experts in the field and available literature on the topic.The ACE Panel report delivers the results of a study taken by 318 dentists surveyed on bioactive materials used as cements, as a liner or in restoration; most used products, and major concerns in adopting these bioactive materials.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a chronic, blistering disorder that affects approximately 30,000 individuals in the United States.

In almost 80% of cases, the first sign of disease is oral blistering, so dentists often play a key role in the referral of patients. In nearly half of patients, lesions spread, with nasal and/or laryngeal involvement. Blistering of the skin may occur on any part of the body and is often accompanied by burning, pain, itching, or stinging, with a significant adverse impact on quality of life and mental health.

Dental providers must work closely with rheumatologists and dermatologists to recognize and differentially diagnose patients with PV. In this activity, the central role of the dental provider in coordinating multidisciplinary care of patients with PV will be addressed, as well as the clinical symptomology and current treatment paradigms of PV.

Learning Objectives

After this course, you will be able to:

• Implement methods to enhance communication between the business and clinical team members

• Understand what causes communication breakdowns between the business and clinical teams

After this course, you will be able to:

Oral cancer rates due to HPV are on the rise, and the role of the dentist is critical in its prevention and in the promotion of the HPV vaccine. Dentists will learn the basics of the HPV vaccine, how to initiate conversation with their patients, answer difficult questions, and get comfortable developing effective messaging techniques.

• Understand the basic science of the HPV vaccine and how it works
• Initiate conversations around the HPV vaccine and answer difficult questions
• Comfortably develop effective messaging techniques around the HPV vaccine

Presented by the ADA Council on Advocacy for Access & Prevention and Robin Wright, PhD, Director, Research and Policy Center of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

After this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the characteristics of a biofilm infection
• Understand the role of specific bacteria
• Understand treatment options and modalities
• Confidently diagnose and treat biofilm infections