Texas dental journal
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Texas dental journal · Feb 2011
The American Dental Association's Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry: a critical resource for 21st century dental practice.
Through its website (http:// www.ada.org/prof/resources/ebd/index.asp), the American Dental Association's Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry offers dental health professionals access to systematic reviews of oral health-related research findings, as well as Clinical Recommendations, which summarize large bodies of scientific evidence in the form of practice recommendations, e.g., the use of professionally-applied topical fluoride and pit-and-fissure sealants. Another feature of the site of great practical importance to the practicing dentist is the Critical Summary, which is a concise review of an individual systematic review's methodology and findings, as well as the importance and context of the outcomes, and the strengths and weaknesses of the systematic review and its implications for dental practice.
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Texas dental journal · Feb 2011
Teaching evidence-based practice at the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston.
This brief report outlines the current curriculum for evidence-based practice at The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston (UTDB). This curriculum is now based on the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation 2010 Accreditation Standards for Dental Education Programs. ⋯ Students learn to be clinically effective through use of the components of evidence-based practice, information search and retrieval, critical thinking (appraisal), and through information resource evaluation and then application to the patient or population. Planned innovations in curriculum include further implementation of evidence-based decision-making in clinical courses, including development of the clinical prescription as a means of demonstrating competence in asking and answering clinical questions, and of the portfolio as a means of demonstrating overall competence.
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Texas dental journal · Aug 2010
Conflicts of interest in research: is clinical decision-making compromised? An opinion paper.
Lack of transparency in funded research can compromise clinical decision-making in an evidence-based practice. Transparency can be defined as full disclosure of all financial assistance and support to authors and investigators. ⋯ One suggested solution to this common ethical dilemma is to continue the dialogue on transparency in research and to create oversight bodies which include representatives from business and industry, private practice, academia, and research. There is increasing evidence of the need for more ethics education at all levels.
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Tobacco companies continue to develop and aggressively market new products for oral use. Most new products are intended to dissolve in the mouth and swallow rather than spit out the juices. These products effectively circumvent smoke-free policies, decrease tobacco cessation efforts, and create individuals who use both smokeless tobacco (ST) and cigarettes. ⋯ Unlike cigarettes, the contents of ST vary widely by brand and product posing difficulty in the use of the available pharmacotherapy for cessation. Although no uniform guidelines exist for the use of pharmacotherapy for smokeless tobacco cessation, research suggests that use of these drugs is effective. The most important motivator for quitting ST cessation remains in the hands of the dentist.