Network

Newsletter

December 1st, 2023

10:00 am - 10:30 am PST | 11:00 am - 11:30 am MST

12:00 pm - 12:30 pm CST | 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST

This webinar will provide you with the latest updates on the use, prescription patterns, and best practices for adjunctive antibiotics in periodontal treatment. Dr. Kotsakis, the PAAS principal investigator, and Dr. Araujo, clinical researcher and Dean of the School of Dental Medicine at University of Buffalo, will share their clinical and research experiences on this topic.

You will also learn about the to the newest study hosted by the Network, the Periodontal Adjunctive Antibiotics Study (PAAS), a randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of adjunctive antibiotics in the treatment of periodontal disease. The PAAS study is recruiting dentists, periodontists, dental therapists, and hygienists in the South Central, Western, and Southwest regions of the Network.

All Network members can receive 0.50 CEU for attending.

Results

A Quick Poll asked practitioners about their attitudes towards the integration of food insecurity screening in dental practice. The results of the Quick Poll on Food Insecurity revealed a perception that food insecurity has a substantial impact on oral health and differing levels of comfort and interest among dental practitioners in addressing and studying food insecurity in the context of oral health.

• Dental caries was the oral health issue most affected by food insecurity (68%), according to the respondents, followed by periodontal disease (12%), wound healing (16%), xerostomia (2%), and no responses for oropharyngeal cancers.
• One third of respondents either strongly agreed (15%) or agreed (15%) with the statement that dental practitioners should screen patients for food insecurity. Conversely, 39% were neutral, and 29% of respondents either disagreed (20%) or strongly disagreed (9%).
• Most respondents (53%) were comfortable in directing a patient to resources in their local community, while 12% were neutral, and 29% were less comfortable or not comfortable at all.
• When asked about their interest in participating in a study, the responses were divided into the three categories: very interested (24%), somewhat interested (37%), and not interested (38%).

Improving the nation's oral health by improving

the knowledge base for clinical decision-making

and moving the latest evidence into routine care

The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network is supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), grants U19-DE-028717 and U01-DE-028727