Oral health outcomes in an adult dental population: the impact of payment systems.

This study compared the effect of payment systems on recall visits and oral health outcomes for four patient payer groups. The authors reviewed recall audit data obtained over a 4-year period. Dental payer groups in the study population differed with respect to dental outcomes.

Strategic management and organizational behavior in dental education: reflections on key issues in an environment of change.

With issues such as shrinking revenue, access to care, faculty workloads, and graying faculty, dental schools are faced with difficult challenges that fall to dental school deans to manage. Do dental school deans have the organizational skill sets and ethical frameworks necessary to address the challenges now facing dental schools? The purpose of this article is to pose questions and suggestions regarding some of the key issues in dental colleges today and to stimulate discussion in the dental community about needed changes in dental education.

The state of the art in evaluating the performance of assistant and associate deans as seen by deans and assistant and associate deans.

This study explores the little-understood process of evaluating the performance of assistant and associate deans at dental colleges in the United States and Canada. Specifically, this research aimed to identify the methods, processes, and outcomes related to the performance appraisals of assistant/associate deans. Both deans and assistant/associate deans were surveyed.

Dental injury associated with anesthesia: a report of 161,687 anesthetics given over 14 years.

Study Objective: To determine the frequency, outcomes, and risk factors for dental injury related to anesthesia.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: Tertiary-care university hospital.

The state of the art in evaluating the performance of department chairs and division heads.

This study explores the little understood process of evaluating the performance of department chairs/division heads in dental schools. Specifically, this research aimed to elucidate the methods, processes, and outcomes related to the job performance of department chairs/division heads. Forty-three deans and 306 chairs completed surveys with both close-ended and open-ended questions.

Dental implants in edentulous adults with cognitive disabilities: report of a pilot project.

Individuals with cognitive disabilities face many barriers to oral care, often suffering from partial or complete edentulism. While the use of implant reconstruction is becoming more common in the general population, such care is still being used infrequently in individuals with intellectual impairment. A pilot project in 1995 surgically placed and restored implant-supported prostheses in six edentulous adults who had varying degrees of cognitive impairment.

Gainsharing in a general practice residency: report of an experience.

Postgraduate general dentistry programs are facing critical problems with funding, resident recruitment and viability. Recent federal actions reduced and eliminated graduate medical education (GME) support for some programs, and rising student debt and increasingly lucrative private practice opportunities reduce the value of postgraduate general dentistry experiences. Faced with these complex and interlinked challenges, the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry General Practice Residency implemented a gainshare plan.

Rapid forced eruption: a case report and review of forced eruption techniques.

This article reviews the infrequently utilized treatment method of forced eruption and how it can serve as an alternative to the sacrifice of the natural root system. Forced eruption can preserve the natural root system and related periodontal architecture, resulting in years of additional service for the patient. It also can maintain adjacent tooth structure while retaining the option for future implant reconstruction.

The work covenant: a management strategy for department chairs and program directors.

Learning contracts have been used in adult education to ensure a positive and successful learning process. By means of a learning contract, the instructor can support the learner in a manner that best suits the learner's individual requirements. Like the learning environment, the workplace finds individuals with varying skill sets, areas of interest, and degrees of motivation.

Anatomical variations and clinical implications of the artery to the lingual nerve.

The pterygomandibular space is a critical anatomic area for the delivery of local anesthesia in the practice of dentistry. The neurovascular contents of this area are subject to trauma and its resultant local and systemic complications. This study of 202 cadaveric specimens reaffirms the literature as to the percent distributions of the superficial and deep routes of the maxillary artery and details for the first time the anatomic variations of the artery to the lingual nerve.

The triangle of safety: a modified posterior superior alveolar injection technique based on the anatomy of the PSA artery.

The posterior superior alveolar (PSA) injection technique is commonly used to anesthetize soft and hard tissues of the posterior maxilla. As with all injections, complications arise, including hematoma formation secondary to needle-induced vascular trauma. In an attempt to develop a hemorrhage-free PSA injection technique, 361 infratemporal dissections were completed on human cadaver specimens.

The posterior superior alveolar injection technique: a report on technique variations and complications.

The posterior superior alveolar (PSA) injection technique has varied over time with respect to the depth and angle of penetration, the location for deposition of anesthetic agent, and the number of injections necessary to assure adequate anesthesia to the maxillary molars. Of the standard intraoral injections, the PSA carries with it the second highest risk for anesthesia complications. With changes in armamentarium and technique, the complication rates have declined and more often are associated with anatomical considerations with respect to neurovascular compromise and/or anesthetic solution.