Texas dental journal
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Hookah smoking has recently emerged as a popular alternative to cigarette smoking, particularly among young adults. The perception that hookah smoking is cleaner and less harmful than cigarette smoking appears to be key to its increased use, although this is not the case. Hookah tobacco smoking delivers the powerful addictive drug nicotine, higher levels of carbon monoxide than a cigarette as well as many of the carcinogens in cigarette smoke. ⋯ Communal hookah use increases the risk of transmission of infectious diseases. Transition from social to individual hookah use is a critical step toward nicotine dependence as well as progression to cigarette use. Prevention and intervention in patients' tobacco use should include discussion of cigarette alternatives including hookah smoking.
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Texas dental journal · Mar 2011
Summary of the new 2010 American Heart Association Guidelines for Basic Life Support (CPR).
Approximately every 5 years, American Heart Association (AHA) experts review emerging scientific evidence and recent clinical experiences and update the AHA guidelines for basic and advanced life support procedures for in-hospital and out-of-hospital victims of life-threatening cardiac events. This article summarizes many of the 2010 changes in those guidelines as they apply to dental healthcare providers (HCP). More detailed information will be available in the near future as these guidelines are fully implemented and instructional materials are released by the AHA. Until they are trained in future AHA or American Red Cross (ARC) basic or advanced cardiac life support (BLS, ACLS) courses in 2011, dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, and office staff should continue to rely on the training and information they received in their most recent basic (and/or advanced cardiac) life support training course.
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Texas dental journal · Feb 2011
The evidence-based dentistry initiative at Baylor College of Dentistry.
This report describes the impact of an R25 Oral Health Research Education Grant awarded to the Texas A&M Health Science Center-Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD) to promote the application of basic and clinical research findings to clinical training and encourage students to pursue careers in oral health research. At Baylor, the R25 grant supports a multi-pronged initiative that employs clinical research as a vehicle for acquainting both students and faculty with the tools of evidence-based dentistry (EBD). ⋯ Progress on these fronts is reflected in a nascent "EBD culture" characterized by increasing participation and buy-in by students and faculty. The production of a new generation of dental graduates equipped with the EBD skill set as well as a growing nucleus of faculty who can model the importance of evidence-based practice is of paramount importance for the future of dentistry.