Quick on time this previous month? This is a abstract of the 5 hottest articles on DentistryIQ for January 2024, starting from pharmacology concerns to the uptick in dentists performing hygiene duties.
Cavities and penalties
In DentistryIQ’s high article for January 2024, Amanda Hill wrote in regards to the typically dire penalties of untreated decay and cautioned readers to take their oral well being critically: “The American Dental Affiliation says there are over two million visits to hospital emergency rooms for dental ache, costing the US health-care system $1.7 billion yearly…[and] The irritating factor right here is that the majority oral illnesses are preventable.”
Pricey Affected person: You possibly can die from cavities
Issues with Ozempic
Use of Ozempic (semaglutide)—notably for weight reduction—soared in 2023, and that uptick means dental practitioners are going to have extra sufferers who’re taking it. On this Medical Historical past Mysteries, dental pharmacologist Tom Viola mentioned that no matter sufferers’ causes for utilizing Ozempic, “there are some dental concerns” dental execs want to grasp.
Drug interactions 101
Reviewing a affected person’s medicine record and asking in the event that they’ve taken their meds the day they’re within the chair is a vital a part of protected dental care. However what about drug interactions? And never simply with different medicine—there are meals and drinks that may have an effect on a medicine’s efficacy.
Can a hygienist personal a apply?
A licensure known as Registered Dental Hygienist in Different Apply (RDHAP) “empowers hygienists to redefine the oral health-care mannequin via dental hygienist-owned practices…RDHAPs are capable of set their very own schedules, decide the time allotted for every affected person, and lead their practices with a preventive, patient-centric strategy,” writes Britt Glauz.
Hygienst-owned practices: Remodeling dentistry via prevention
Dentists and dental hygiene
Current polling reveals that amid the continuing dental staffing scarcity, extra dentists are performing hygiene duties. Whether or not they need to is one consideration, however for Hill, the extra related one is that if they’re offering high quality care: “Sufferers nonetheless want preventive care, and that may, out of necessity (or alternative), fall into the dentist’s column. As with every process, if dentists are going to carry out it, they higher know methods to do it!”
