Dentistry Commons^™

Analysis Of Pretreatment Factors Associated With Stability In Early Class Iii Treatment, Yasuko Inoue, Toru Deguchi, James K. Hartsfield Jr., Wakako Tome, Noriyuki Kitai

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify pretreatment factors associated with the stability of early class III treatment, since most orthodontists start the treatment with their uncertain hypotheses and/or predictions. Subjects consisted of 75 patients with a class III skeletal relationship (ANB < 2° and overjet < 0 mm) who had been consecutively treated with rapid maxillary expansion and facemask and followed until their second phase treatment. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether they showed relapse in follow-up. The stable group maintained their positive overjet (n = 55), and the unstable group experienced relapse with a zero or negative overjet (n = 20). Two general, three dental, and 13 cephalometric pretreatment factors were investigated to determine which factors were associated with stability.

RESULTS: Sex, pretreatment age, and anteroposterior functional shift, which were hypothesized as associated factors, were not related to …

Serum Nutrient Levels And Aging Effects On Periodontitis, Jeffrey L Ebersole, Joshua Lambert, Heather Bush, Pinar Emecen Huja, Arpita Basu

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Periodontal disease damages tissues as a result of dysregulated host responses against the chronic bacterial biofilm insult and approximately 50% of US adults > 30 years old exhibit periodontitis. The association of five blood nutrients and periodontitis were evaluated due to our previous findings regarding a potential protective effect for these nutrients in periodontal disease derived from the US population sampled as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2004). Data from over 15,000 subjects was analyzed for blood levels of cis-β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, folate, vitamin D, and vitamin E, linked with analysis of the presence and severity of periodontitis. …

Comparative Analysis Of Microbial Sensing Molecules In Mucosal Tissues With Aging, Octavio A. Gonzalez, Sreenatha S. Kirakodu, Michael John Novak, A. J. Stromberg, L. Orraca, J. Gonzalez-Martinez, A. Burgos, Jeffrey L. Ebersole

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Host-bacterial interactions at mucosal surfaces require recognition of the bacteria by host cells enabling targeted responses to maintain tissue homeostasis. It is now well recognized that an array of host-derived pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), both cell-bound and soluble, are critical to innate immune engagement of microbes via microbial-associated molecular patterns (MAMP). This report describes the use of a nonhuman primate model to evaluate changes in the expression of these sensing molecules related to aging in healthy gingival tissues. Macaca mulatta aged 3-24 years were evaluated clinically and gingival tissues obtained, RNA isolated and microarray analysis conducted for gene expression of …

Salivary And Serum Adiponectin And C-Reactive Protein Levels In Acute Myocardial Infarction Related To Body Mass Index And Oral Health, Jeffrey L. Ebersole, Richard J. Kryscio, C. Campbell, D. F. Kinane, J. Mcdevitt, N. Christodoulides, P. N. Floriano, Craig S. Miller

Oral Health Practice Faculty Publications

Background and Objective

Adiponectin is produced by adipose cells and is considered an anti‐inflammatory molecule. In contrast, C‐reactive protein (CRP) has been identified as a hallmark of systemic inflammation and used as a risk marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Of interest was the relationship of these two biomarkers to oral health and CVD risk.

Material and Methods

This investigation examined these two molecules in serum and unstimulated whole saliva of patients within 48 h of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) compared to control subjects. We hypothesized a differential response in these biomolecules resulting from the heart attack that would be …

Cross-Talk Between Clinical And Host-Response Parameters Of Periodontitis In Smokers, Radha Nagarajan, Craig S. Miller, Dolph R. Dawson Iii, Mohanad Al-Sabbagh, Jeffrey L. Ebersole

Institute for Biomedical Informatics Faculty Publications

Background and Objective

Periodontal diseases are a major public health concern leading to tooth loss and have also been shown to be associated with several chronic systemic diseases. Smoking is a major risk factor for the development of numerous systemic diseases, as well as periodontitis. While it is clear that smokers have a significantly enhanced risk for developing periodontitis leading to tooth loss, the population varies regarding susceptibility to disease associated with smoking. This investigation focused on identifying differences in four broad sets of variables, consisting of: (i) host‐response molecules; (ii) periodontal clinical parameters; (iii) antibody responses to periodontal pathogens …

Clinical Performance Measures And Quality Improvement System Considerations For Dental Education, Joseph W. Parkinson, Gregory G. Zeller

Oral Health Practice Faculty Publications

Quality improvement and quality assurance programs are an integral part of providing excellence in health care delivery. The Dental Quality Alliance and the Commission on Dental Accreditation recognize this and have created standards and recommendations to advise health care providers and health care delivery systems, including dental schools, on measuring the quality of the care delivered to patients. Overall health care expenditures have increased, and the Affordable Care Act has made health care, including dentistry, available to more people in the United States. These increases in cost and in the number of patients accessing care contribute to a heightened interest …

An Instrument To Measure Dental Students' Communication Skills With Patients In Six Specific Circumstances: An Exploratory Factor Analysis, Joanna Alice Aalboe, Mitzi M. Schumacher

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

The aim of this study was to explore the internal structure of an instrument assessing dental students' confidence in their ability to communicate with patients in six specific circumstances (anxious, in pain, etc.) using exploratory factor analysis. In a Communication in the Dental Health Care Setting course at a U.S. dental school, second-year dental students in two years (2013 and 2014) responded to the six items on a survey instrument. Of the total 123 students, 122 fully completed the instrument, for a response rate of 99%. Analysis of the results identified a unidimensional scale with regards to patient-specific communication self-efficacy …

Social Media In The Dental School Environment, Part B: Curricular Considerations, Heiko Spallek, Sharon P. Turner, Evelyn Donate-Bartfield, David Chambers, Maureen Mcandrew, Pamela Zarkowski, Nadeem Karimbux

Oral Health Practice Faculty Publications

The goal of this article is to describe the broad curricular constructs surrounding teaching and learning about social media in dental education. This analysis takes into account timing, development, and assessment of the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed to effectively use social media tools as a contemporary dentist. Three developmental stages in a student's path to becoming a competent professional are described: from undergraduate to dental student, from the classroom and preclinical simulation laboratory to the clinical setting, and from dental student to licensed practitioner. Considerations for developing the dental curriculum and suggestions for effective instruction at each stage …

Ensuring Access To Oral Health Care For Children: School-Based Care By Dental Therapists - A Commentary, David A. Nash, Kavita R. Mathu-Muju, Jay W. Friedman

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Social Media In The Dental School Environment, Part A: Benefits, Challenges, And Recommendations For Use, Heiko Spallek, Sharon P. Turner, Evelyn Donate-Bartfield, David Chambers, Maureen Mcandrew, Pamela Zarkowski, Nadeem Karimbux

Oral Health Practice Faculty Publications

Social media consist of powerful tools that impact not only communication but relationships among people, thus posing an inherent challenge to the traditional standards of who we are as dental educators and what we can expect of each other. This article examines how the world of social media has changed dental education. Its goal is to outline the complex issues that social media use presents for academic dental institutions and to examine these issues from personal, professional, and legal perspectives. After providing an update on social media, the article considers the advantages and risks associated with the use of social …

Targeted Salivary Biomarkers For Discrimination Of Periodontal Health And Disease(S), Jeffrey L. Ebersole, Radhakrishnan Nagarajan, David Akers, Craig S. Miller

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Generally, clinical parameters are used in dental practice for periodontal disease, yet several drawbacks exist with the clinical standards for addressing the needs of the public at large in determining the current status/progression of the disease, and requiring a significant amount of damage before these parameters can document disease. Therefore, a quick, easy and reliable method of assessing and monitoring periodontal disease should provide important diagnostic information that improves and speeds treatment decisions and moves the field closer to individualized point-of-care diagnostics.

OBJECTIVE: This report provides results for a saliva-based diagnostic approach for periodontal health and disease based upon …

Can Dentistry Have Two Contracts With The Public?, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

The social contract is an implicit agreement between parts of society and society as a whole. Since the Middle Ages, the learned professions, recently including dentistry, have had a covenantal relationship with the public based on trust, exchanging monopoly privileges for benefiting the public good. Unlike commercial trade in commodities, professional relationships are grounded in ensuring an adequate level of oral health to all. A second contract is emerging where dentists relate to society as business operators, exchanging commodity services for a price. Recent actions by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Supreme Court make it unlikely that dentistry …

On The Symbolism Of The White Coat, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

The white coat ceremony has become an academic ritual in the health professions: a ceremony that signals a transformation of status from ordinary student to that of one studying to become a health professional. While donning the white coat is a sign of a changed role, the white coat is also a powerful symbol of transformation. White is a symbol of purity, and the white coat symbolizes the purity of purpose being affirmed in becoming a health professional. Dentistry is afforded the status of a learned profession as a result of the power dentists possess over patients seeking care; this …

Use Of Social Media In Dental Schools: Pluses, Perils, And Pitfalls From A Legal Perspective, Joseph W. Parkinson, Sharon P. Turner

Oral Health Practice Faculty Publications

One of the ways dental education is changing the way it is preparing the next generation of learners is through efficient utilization of interactive social media. Social media, which facilitates interaction and sharing of new ideas, is being utilized to educate students, residents, and faculty. Unfortunately, as with most improvements in technology, there are growing pains. Faculty, student, and patient interaction on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, can lead to inappropriate or embarrassing situations. Striking the appropriate balance between free speech rights of students and faculty and the need for colleges and universities to have efficient operations …

A Review Of The Global Literature On Dental Therapists, David A. Nash, Jay W. Friedman, Kavita R. Mathu-Muju, Peter G. Robinson, Julie Satur, Susan Moffat, Rosemary Kardos, Edward C. M. Lo, Anthony H. H. Wong, Nasruddin Jaafar, Jos Van Den Heuvel, Prathip Phantumvanit, Eu Oy Chu, Rahul Naidu, Lesley Naidoo, Irving Mckenzie, Eshani Fernando

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: Access to adequate oral health care is deficient in many parts of the world. Many countries are now using dental therapists to increase access, particularly for children. To inform the discussion on dental therapists in the workforce, particularly in the United States, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation funded a review of the global literature to identify as many documents as possible related to the practice of dental therapists since the establishment of the School Dental Service in New Zealand in 1921.

METHODS: Consultants in each of the countries considered to have a substantive literature on dental therapists were …

Expression Of Mir-15/107 Family Micrornas In Human Tissues And Cultured Rat Brain Cells, Wang-Xia Wang, Robert J. Danaher, Craig S. Miller, Joseph R. Berger, Vega G. Nubia, Bernard R. Wilfred, Janna H. Neltner, Christopher M. Norris, Peter T. Nelson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

The miR-15/107 family comprises a group of 10 paralogous microRNAs (miRNAs), sharing a 5' AGCAGC sequence. These miRNAs have overlapping targets. In order to characterize the expression of miR-15/107 family miRNAs, we employed customized TaqMan Low-Density micro-fluid PCR-array to investigate the expression of miR-15/107 family members, and other selected miRNAs, in 11 human tissues obtained at autopsy including the cerebral cortex, frontal cortex, primary visual cortex, thalamus, heart, lung, liver, kidney, spleen, stomach and skeletal muscle. miR-103, miR-195 and miR-497 were expressed at similar levels across various tissues, whereas miR-107 is enriched in brain samples. We also examined the expression …

Envisioning An Oral Healthcare Workforce For The Future, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

Health is critical to human well-being. Oral health is an integral component of health. One is not healthy without oral health. As health is essential to human flourishing, it is important that an oral healthcare delivery system and workforce be developed and deployed which can help ensure all citizens have the potential to access oral health care. As such access does not generally exist today, it is imperative to advance the realization of this goal and to develop a vision of an oral healthcare workforce to functionally support access. Public funding of basic oral health care is an important element …

Oral Microbial Biofilm Stimulation Of Epithelial Cell Responses, Rebecca Peyyala, Sreenatha S. Kirakodu, Karen F. Novak, Jeffrey L. Ebersole

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Oral bacterial biofilms trigger chronic inflammatory responses in the host that can result in the tissue destructive events of periodontitis. However, the characteristics of the capacity of specific host cell types to respond to these biofilms remain ill-defined. This report describes the use of a novel model of bacterial biofilms to stimulate oral epithelial cells and profile select cytokines and chemokines that contribute to the local inflammatory environment in the periodontium. Monoinfection biofilms were developed with Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus gordonii, Actinomyces naeslundii, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Porphyromonas gingivalis on rigid gas-permeable contact lenses. Biofilms, as well as planktonic cultures …

Ethics And The 'Seasons Of My Life' As A Dental Educator, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

Perhaps the first comprehensive ethics program in American dental schools was created in 1990 at the University of Kentucky by then dean David Nash. Nash recounts the emergence of his personal and professional interest in ethics using the structure of Daniel Levinson's book The Seasons of a Man's Life. Each season brings tasks of evolving and deepening ethical engagement. Being ethical is important; helping others to be so is special. Nash still teaches the course.

Societal Expectations And The Profession's Responsibility To Reform The Dental Workforce To Ensure Access To Care For Children, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

Societal expectations raise the issue of the nature of a profession and a profession's relationship with society. Influential policy leaders want reform of the oral health workforce and delivery system in such a manner as to ensure that improvements are made for accessing care, particularly for vulnerable and disadvantaged populations, especially children. This essay is based on a presentation to the House of Delegates of the California Dental Association on Nov.13, 2009.

Animal Models For Periodontal Disease, Helieh S. Oz, David A. Puleo

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Animal models and cell cultures have contributed new knowledge in biological sciences, including periodontology. Although cultured cells can be used to study physiological processes that occur during the pathogenesis of periodontitis, the complex host response fundamentally responsible for this disease cannot be reproduced in vitro. Among the animal kingdom, rodents, rabbits, pigs, dogs, and nonhuman primates have been used to model human periodontitis, each with advantages and disadvantages. Periodontitis commonly has been induced by placing a bacterial plaque retentive ligature in the gingival sulcus around the molar teeth. In addition, alveolar bone loss has been induced by inoculation or …

Hiv-1 Reactivation Induced By The Periodontal Pathogens Fusobacterium Nucleatum And Porphyromonas Gingivalis Involves Toll-Like Receptor 2 And 9 Activation In Monocytes/Macrophages, Octavio A. Gonzalez, Mengtao Li, Jeffrey L. Ebersole, Chifu B. Huang

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Although oral coinfections (e.g., periodontal disease) are highly prevalent in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-positive (HIV-1⁺) patients and appear to positively correlate with viral load levels, the potential for oral bacteria to induce HIV-1 reactivation in latently infected cells has received little attention. We showed that HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter activation can be induced by periodontopathogens in monocytes/macrophages; nevertheless, the mechanisms involved in this response remain undetermined. Since Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), TLR4, and TLR9 activation have been involved in HIV-1 recrudescence, we sought to determine the role of these TLRs in HIV-1 reactivation induced by …

Ethics, Empathy, And The Education Of Dentists, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

Professional education in dentistry exists to educate good dentists-dentists equipped and committed to helping society gain the benefits of oral health. In achieving this intention, dental educators acknowledge that student dentists must acquire the complex knowledge base and the sophisticated perceptual-motor skills of dentistry. The graduation of knowledgeable and skilled clinicians in dentistry is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for ensuring quality oral health care. The further requirement is the commitment of graduates to applying their abilities with moral integrity: providing appropriate and quality care in their patients' best interest. Ultimately, good dentistry depends on individuals committed to treating …

On Why The Dental Therapists' "Movement" In The United States Should Focus On Children--Not Adults, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Adding Dental Therapists To The Health Care Team To Improve Access To Oral Health Care For Children, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General, and the subsequent National Call to Action to Promote Oral Health, contributed significantly to raising awareness regarding the lack of access to oral health care by many Americans, especially minority and low-income populations, with resulting disparities in oral health. The problem is particularly acute among children. The current dental workforce in the United States is inadequate to meet the oral health care needs of children. It is inadequate in terms of numbers of dentists, as well as their geographic distribution, ethnicity, education, and practice orientation. Dental therapists, paraprofessionals …

Application Of Prodrugs To Inflammatory Diseases Of The Gut, Helieh S. Oz, Jeffrey L. Ebersole

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Oral delivery is the most common and preferred route of drug administration although the digestive tract exhibits several obstacles to drug delivery including motility and intraluminal pH profiles. The gut milieu represents the largest mucosal surface exposed to microorganisms with 10^10-12 colony forming bacteria/g of colonic content. Approximately, one third of fecal dry matter is made of bacteria/ bacterial components. Indeed, the normal gut microbiota is responsible for healthy digestion of dietary fibers (polysaccharides) and fermentation of short chain fatty acids such as acetate and butyrate that provide carbon sources (fuel) for these bacteria. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) results …

A Larger Sense Of Purpose: Dentistry And Society, David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

Dentistry is undergoing a subtle shift away from being a profession to becoming a business. The two cultures of professionalism and business are contrasted. Among the forces driving this change are the emphasis on esthetics in dentistry and the increasing inability of a large class of patients to access dentistry on a business basis. The shift toward dentistry as a business entails the unhealthy transition toward regarding patients as means to satisfy the dentist's ends rather than patients' health being an end in itself. Dentists run the risk of "objectivifying" rather than "humanizing" patients. This trend must be overcome with …

Efficacy Of The De Novo-Derived Antimicrobial Peptide Wlbu2 Against Oral Bacteria, Karen F. Novak, William J. Diamond, Sreenatha S. Kirakodu, Rebecca Peyyala, Kimberly W. Anderson, Ronald C. Montelaro, Timothy A. Mietzner

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

The efficacy of a novel synthetic antimicrobial peptide (WLBU2) was evaluated against three oral microorganisms (grown planktonically): Streptococcus gordonii, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Porphyromonas gingivalis. WLBU2 killed all three species, with F. nucleatum being the most susceptible. WLBU2 also reduced the bacterial burden of S. gordonii and F. nucleatum biofilms.

Improving Student Dentist Competencies And Perception Of Difficulty In Delivering Care To Children With Developmental Disabilities Using A Virtual Patient Module, Harold L. Kleinert, Carla Sanders, John Mink, David A. Nash, Jeff Johnson, Sara Boyd, Sandra Challman

Human Development Institute Faculty Publications

An interactive, multimedia, virtual patient module was designed and developed on compact disc (CD-ROM) to address the need for student dentists to increase their competence and decrease their perception of difficulty in caring for children with developmental disabilities. A development team consisting of pediatric dentistry faculty members, parents of children with developmental disabilities, an individual with a developmental disability, and educational specialists developed an interactive virtual patient case. The case involved a ten-year-old child with Down syndrome presenting with a painful tooth. Student dentists were required to make decisions regarding proper interactions with the child, as well as appropriate clinical …

Why Dentists Should Become Oral Physicians: A Response To Dr. Donald Giddon's "Why Dentists Should Be Called Oral Physicians Now", David A. Nash

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.