The validity of indices for rural health manpower needs assessment.

Population-to-practitioner ratios have long been the primary index in the designation of health manpower shortage areas. This paper documents that application of the widely used population-to-dentist index results in understatement of the need for dental health manpower in rural areas. Through the analysis of utilization data collected from a statewide health screening program in Colorado, the practice of sole reliance on the population-to-dentist indices as an indicator of need was tested.

Mucosal cysts of the maxillary sinus: a clinical and radiographic study.

Of 4,546 patients examined, 73 had mucosal cysts in one or both maxillary sinuses. Distribution between sinuses was approximately equal. Most cysts appeared to arise from the floor of the sinus.

An employment checklist for prospective dental educators.

Recent dental literature suggests that there is a shortage of dental educators and provides suggestions for dental schools to increase and improve recruitment efforts. However, little has been published to aid the prospective dental educator in finding the most appropriate position. A checklist to aid the prospective faculty member is proposed, which enumerates critical employment characteristics to be considered by the applicant during the recruitment process.

An unusual triad: microdontia, taurodontia, and dens invaginatus.

A 12 1/2-year-old white boy was examined and found to have permanent teeth that were smaller than those of the average adult. The microdontia was accompanied by taurodontia of the mandibular molars and several teeth with dens invaginatus. The patient was normal in appearance and had no other illness.