This course will teach strategies for reviewing contracts. Learn to identify contractual provisions that can cause problems later and how to parse through these provisions.

Brush up on everything you’ve forgotten since dental school by joining us for a look at the wide swath of nonsurgical interventions available for managing cavitated and noncavitated lesions. Which intervention is most effective? How did we come to these conclusions? This review of the American Dental Association’s latest clinical practice guideline, which focuses on the nonsurgical management of caries, will provide you with a comprehensive review of all available strategies.

Dentistry is changing at a rapid pace. Being successful and efficient is about staying on top of the newest trends and clinical recommendations. In this course, Dr. Brady will present the top clinical tips and techniques she is teaching. Some are older tried-and-true approaches that remain successful, while others introduce brand new materials and approaches. Tips will span the areas of composites, indirect all ceramics, bonding, impressions and temporaries.

When the first question a patient asks is "how much will my insurance pay," it becomes clear that our daily lives revolve around insurance. Learn to step out of that mindset and step into customer service, quality health care and, ultimately, a profitable practice. Discover how excellent communication, proper coding and above average collections can impact your practice’s efficiency and financial health. Walk out of this high-energy course feeling recharged.

Development of a working differential diagnosis is one of the most difficult tasks in the diagnostic sequence. This course will cover pathology terminology, provide clinical case presentations focusing on a variety of pathological conditions, and review the use of an audience response polling system to help you in the decision-making process. You will leave this course with a fresh perspective of oral pathology and information needed to identify and diagnose oral lesions.

Patients' perception of pain, the primitive tools that the dental clinician utilizes to assess and diagnose, and the understanding of pulpal pathosis sometimes make it difficult to determine the origin of dental pain. It is important to understand how pulpal pain manifests itself and to deal with it accordingly. This course will teach the basic principles of pulpal pathosis and its relation to dental pain and share treatment and management options for acute dental emergencies.

JADA April 2018
Dentists wrote 6.4% of all opioid prescriptions in the United States in 2012. The purpose of this study was to examine opioid prescription rates, dosage of opioids prescribed, type of opioid drug prescribed, and type of dental visit at which dentists prescribe opioids. The authors used the 2010 through 2015 Truven Health Marketscan Research databases and the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Training and Technical Assistance Center conversion data set. The authors conducted descriptive analyses for days’ supply, quantity prescribed, and daily morphine milligram equivalent dose.

Key Words: Opioids; prescriptions; dentists.

JADA April 2018
In this randomized study, split-mouth, triple-blind clinical trial, the authors evaluated the efficacy of a desensitizing gel that contained 5% potassium nitrate and 5% glutaraldehyde applied before in-office bleaching with 35% hydrogen peroxide (HP). Treatment with the desensitizing or placebo control gels was randomly assigned to one-half of the maxillary teeth of 42 patients in a split-mouth design. The desensitizing gels were applied and maintained in contact with the tooth enamel for 10 minutes, followed by 2 HP bleaching sessions separated by 1 week. The primary outcome variable was pain intensity assessed with a numeric rating scale and a visual analog scale. Color was evaluated by means of a digital spectrophotometer and a value-oriented shade guide.

Key Words: Tooth bleaching; dentin sensitivity; randomized controlled clinical trial; hydrogen peroxide.

JADA April 2018
A suspicious occlusal carious lesion (SOCL) can be defined as a lesion with no cavitation and no radiographic radiolucency but for which caries is suspected. The authors evaluated whether using a device changed the percentage of SOCLs that were opened surgically and, among those SOCLs that were opened, the proportion that had penetrated into dentin. Eighty-two dentists participated. In phase 1 of the study, dentists identified approximately 20 SOCLs, obtained patient consent, and recorded information about the lesion, treatment or treatments, and depth, if opened. Dentists were then randomly assigned into 1 of 3 groups: no device, DIAGNOdent (KaVo), and Spectra (Air Techniques). In phase 2, dentists enrolled approximately 20 additional patients and recorded the same phase 1 information while using the assigned device to help make their treatment decisions. A mixed-model logistic regression was used to determine any differences after randomization in the proportion of lesions opened and, if opened, the proportion of lesions that penetrated into dentin.

Key Words: Evidence-based dentistry; caries; dentin.

JADA May 2018
Although dental Mission of Mercy (MOM) events have existed for more than 2 decades and are held in more than 30 states, systematic data collection and reporting on patient characteristics, oral health care use patterns, and oral health care needs are lacking. The authors surveyed patients attending the 2016 Florida MOM, asking about their reasons for seeking oral health care, oral health care use, and dental-related emergency department (ED) use. The authors conducted descriptive and multivariable analyses of survey and patient registration data to describe patient characteristics and examine associations between patient characteristics, time to last dental visit, and ED use.

Key Words: Access to oral health care; emergency services; oral health; vulnerable populations; Mission of Mercy.

JADA July 2018
Multiple or high dosage opioid prescriptions increase the risk of experiencing drug misuse and overdose. The authors examine index (first) and follow-up opioid prescriptions for 1 year among privately insured dental patients in the United States from 2010 through 2015. The authors used the 2010 through 2015 Truven Health MarketScan Research databases and the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training Technical Assistance Center conversion data set. The authors analyzed index prescriptions, repeat prescriptions over 1 year, same-day multiple prescriptions, and concurrent prescriptions among dental patients. Descriptive analyses were conducted for days’ supply, quantity of opioids, daily morphine milligram equivalent (MME) dose, and total MME dose.

Key Words: Opioids; concurrent prescriptions; repeat prescriptions; dentists.

JADA May 2018
The purpose of this study was to assess dental antibiotic prescribing trends over time, to quantify the number and types of antibiotics dentists prescribe inappropriately, and to estimate the excess health care costs of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing with the use of a large cohort of general dentists in the United States. We used a quasi-Poisson regression model to analyze antibiotic prescriptions trends by general dentists between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015, with the use of data from Express Scripts Holding Company, a large pharmacy benefits manager. We evaluated antibiotic duration and appropriateness for general dentists. Appropriateness was evaluated by reviewing the antibiotic prescribed and the duration of the prescription.

Key Words : Antibiotics; dentistry; prophylaxis; treatment; epidemiology; public health.

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