Occupational hazards of dentistry. (1/198)

Dental professionals are susceptible to a number of occupational hazards. Relying on relevant literature, the present paper discusses selected occupational hazards - occupational biohazards, stressful situations, and latex hypersensitivity, as well as factors leading to the musculoskeletal system diseases and diseases of the peripheral nervous system.  (+info)

The evolution of a teledentistry system within the Department of Defense. (2/198)

Total Dental Access (TDA) is the teledentistry project within the Department of Defense. This project enables referring dentists from the US Armed Forces to consult with specialists on the status of a patient. TDA focuses on three areas of dentistry: patient care, continuing education and dentist-laboratory communications. One of the goals of this project is to increase patient access to quality dental care. The other goal is to establish a cost effective telemedicine system. This paper describes the evolution of a teledentistry system, the main features of POTS-based, ISDN-based and Web-based systems used, advantages, disadvantages and cost-effectiveness of these systems. Data has been collected on the frequency of use, technical problems occurred, avoided patient or specialist travel and the total number of consults. A cost-effectiveness analysis has been conducted on the data collected. The results of this analysis will be presented.  (+info)

Work-related vision hazards in the dental office. (3/198)

Among the numerous threats to the dentist's health there is one relating to the eye. The paper discusses the impact of selected adverse factors on the eye in connection with dental practice in the surgery.  (+info)

Microbial biofilm formation and contamination of dental-unit water systems in general dental practice. (4/198)

Dental-unit water systems (DUWS) harbor bacterial biofilms, which may serve as a haven for pathogens. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbial load of water from DUWS in general dental practices and the biofouling of DUWS tubing. Water and tube samples were taken from 55 dental surgeries in southwestern England. Contamination was determined by viable counts on environmentally selective, clinically selective, and pathogen-selective media, and biofouling was determined by using microscopic and image analysis techniques. Microbial loading ranged from 500 to 10(5) CFU. ml(-1); in 95% of DUWS water samples, it exceeded European Union drinking water guidelines and in 83% it exceeded American Dental Association DUWS standards. Among visible bacteria, 68% were viable by BacLight staining, but only 5% of this "viable by BacLight" fraction produced colonies on agar plates. Legionella pneumophila, Mycobacterium spp., Candida spp., and Pseudomonas spp. were detected in one, five, two, and nine different surgeries, respectively. Presumptive oral streptococci and Fusobacterium spp. were detected in four and one surgeries, respectively, suggesting back siphonage and failure of antiretraction devices. Hepatitis B virus was never detected. Decontamination strategies (5 of 55 surgeries) significantly reduced biofilm coverage but significantly increased microbial numbers in the water phase (in both cases, P < 0.05). Microbial loads were not significantly different in DUWS fed with soft, hard, deionized, or distilled water or in different DUWS (main, tank, or bottle fed). Microbiologically, no DUWS can be considered "cleaner" than others. DUWS deliver water to patients with microbial levels exceeding those considered safe for drinking water.  (+info)

Unconventional dentistry: Part I. Introduction. (5/198)

This is the first in a series of five articles providing a contemporary overview and introduction to unconventional (alternative) dentistry (UD) and correlation with unconventional (alternative) medicine (UM). UD is analogous to and conceptually inseparable from UM. Dentists should learn about UD and UM and be aware of evidence on the safety and effectiveness of treatments and procedures. While being skeptical of promotions, dentists should be able to accept and encompass science-based advances and reject unproven and disproven methods. Incorporating selected unconventional methods with conventional dentistry in selected patients for specific purposes may be useful to both patients and dentists. Improved education in critical thinking, research, science, medicine, behaviour, communication and patient management is needed.  (+info)

Unconventional dentistry: Part II. Practitioners and patients. (6/198)

This is the second in a series of five articles providing a contemporary overview and introduction to unconventional dentistry (UD) and its correlation with unconventional medicine (UM). Dentists may provide unconventional services and use or prescribe unconventional products because of personal beliefs, boredom with conventional practice, lack of understanding of the scientific process or financial motivation. To promote these UD practices, unrecognized credentials and self-proclaimed specialties are advertised. Characteristics of users of unconventional practices are varied; however, UD users are more often female and highly educated. UD practitioners and users generally appear to be analogous to UM practitioners and users. Some UD treatments are more invasive or more costly than conventional dentistry.  (+info)

Unconventional dentistry: Part III. Legal and regulatory issues. (7/198)

This is the third in a series of 5 articles providing a contemporary overview and introduction to unconventional dentistry (UD) and its correlation to unconventional medicine (UM). UD presents issues of dental quackery, fraud and malpractice, and it also engenders professional concerns about public protection and professional risks. Case reports illustrate numerous issues. The reader is encouraged to evaluate the cases for problems related to malpractice, fraud, ethics, behaviours and professionalism. A discussion of ethical issues is beyond the scope of this paper.  (+info)

An analysis of antibiotic prescriptions from general dental practitioners in England. (8/198)

The aim of this study was to determine the antibiotics prescribed by general dental practitioners (GDPs). Adult antibiotic prescriptions issued by GDPs from 10 Health Authorities (HAs) in England were analysed. The type of antibiotic prescribed, dose, frequency and duration were investigated. Most of the 17007 prescriptions were for generic antibiotics; nine different antibiotics were prescribed. Many practitioners prescribed antibiotics inappropriately with inconsistent frequency and dose, and for prolonged periods.  (+info)