Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R A Flanders.
Dental sealants have been shown to be an effective means of preventing pit and fissure caries. Despite more than 20 years of research and overwhelming evidence in support of the use of sealants, the dental profession has been slow to make use of them. This article explores the strategy used by the Illinois Dental Sealant Program to increase dental sealant use.
This pilot study of sports-related injuries in Illinois confirms that football players do not encounter orofacial injuries as often as other athletes. The authors attribute this to mandatory use of faceguards and mouth protectors in football and recommend that mouthguards be used by all players of contact sports.
Success in preventive dentistry requires much more than community water fluoridation, dental sealants, fluoride supplements and dental health education. The scope of preventive dentistry should include oral cancer prevention, orofacial injury control, craniofacial anomalies, malocclusion, and the early detection of systemic disease with oral manifestations. The Division of Dental Health has developed preventive programs to address a majority of these health problems. The State of Illinois can be considered in the forefront of preventive dentistry. It has more than 85% of its population served by optimally fluoridated drinking water, 75,000 children participating in fluoride mouthrinse programs, established dental sealant programs and mouthguard programs, and the availability of innovative programs that address a wide variety of oral health concerns. These programs and others being conducted by the Illinois State Dental Society and in private dental offices are providing a significant improvement in the oral health status for all residents of Illinois.
Dental amalgam has been the subject of intermittent controversy since it was introduced into dental practice approximately 150 years ago. The controversy has centered on the use of mercury in dental amalgam and the potential health implications to dental patients and dental health professionals from mercury exposure. In recent years the debate over the use of dental amalgam has intensified due to several articles in professional journals and media coverage by television and the press. This paper reviews the recent literature regarding dental amalgam, describes the activities of the antiamalgamists, examines the alternatives to dental amalgam, and reviews the recommendations for additional research. The existing scientific evidence does not demonstrate that mercury in dental amalgam poses a public health hazard. However, researchers on both sides of the controversy agree that much remains to be examined about the health implications of dental amalgam and that the subject merits continued research.
Project HOPE has been working with the Honduran government since 1983 to establish educational programs for health workers and improve the country's health care services. The Ministry of Health in Honduras, under the direction of the president, is planning a new emphasis on preventive dentistry. The feasibility of community water fluoridation is being examined, and dental health programs have been implemented in pilot schools around the country. The Ministry of Health plans to expand these pilot programs to include all elementary schools in Honduras. This article describes the dental health services in Honduras and the government's effort to establish a nationwide school dental health program with emphasis on preventive dentistry.
The largest and most important group that may be reached by health education is found in the school system. Children not only are fast learners and anxious to acquire new skills but also are at risk for the development of dental health problems. Therefore, regardless of the equivocal nature of the evidence regarding the effectiveness of school dental health educational programs, it is important that they continue to be developed. The programs created should have objectives, pretesting, participatory and cognitive experiences, periodic review of dental health program by an advisory committee, a liaison between school personnel and health professionals, and realistic models to assess the effects of the program on health. Because dental disease preventive programs and regimens such as water fluoridation, topical fluorides, dental sealants, and oral hygiene regimens are available that have the potential to eliminate dental disease, effort should be made to increase the awareness of the children who can benefit from them.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Denturism, an organized movement by dental laboratory technicians to increase their control over the provision of denture services to the public, has generated a great deal of controversy among members of organized dentistry, the National Denturist Association, the Federal Trade Commission, consumer groups, and prepaid dental plans.Denturism is currently legal in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Oregon. In the first three States, the denturist must practice under the supervision of a dentist, but in Oregon the denturist is able to enter independent practice.The American Dental Association has held that a denturist is educationally unqualified to provide denture services directly to the consumer, Representatives of organized dentistry have characterized denturists as untrained and unskilled persons who would endanger the public's health and return one phase of dentistry to the apprentice system. They see denturism as constituting a major step backward in health care delivery and having an adverse effect on preventive dental care.The National Denturist Association, however, defines a denturist as a highly skilled person who specializes in the making of full and partial dentures. Denturists maintain that the dentist is an unnecessary middleman in the provision of denture services and is the primary cause of the high cost of dental prostheses. They contend that State dental laws providing that only dentists may render denture services have led to the high cost of these services without contributing significantly to the health and safety of the public.Organized dentistry in the United States has been fighting denturism in a number of ways. One that has met with considerable success has been the establishment of programs to provide people access to dental care, especially denture services, at lower costs. A second alternative under consideration is to license denturists but require them to practice under the supervision of a dentist. A third alternative under discussion is to expand the duties of existing dental auxiliary personnel.The final decision on denturism, however, will not be made by the dental profession or the denturists, but by the voting public and their elected representatives, based on the evidence they have before them.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A description of the fluoride overfeed in Hooper Bay, Alaska, that resulted in the first reported death due to fluoride toxicity caused by drinking water from a community water system.
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The increasing incidence of injuries is a major health problem in the United States. Many of these injuries are orofacial trauma that result from sports activities. The dental profession can play an important role in preventing many of these injuries. Working together with athletic trainers, coaches, parents and teachers, dental health professionals can help develop effective sports dentistry programs in schools and colleges. Project Mouthguard is an example of such a coordinated approach to this health problem. By providing custom mouthguards to the state's high school athletes and promoting awareness among all Illinois youth of the benefits of wearing mouth protection during sports activities, this program hopes to significantly reduce the number of orofacial injuries in the state.