The Health and Human Services Administration's Office of Minority Health is launching an e-learning program entitled Cultural Competency Program for Oral Health Professionals. This free program, offered exclusively online, is designed to help oral health professionals build knowledge and skills related to cultural and linguistic competency.

The program targets dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental specialists, and any other professional in the unique position to help improve access to quality oral health care, and to help improve oral health outcomes of all patients. The Cultural Competency Program for Oral Health Professionals is a 3-course, ADA CERP Recognized e-learning program that will offer eligible oral health professionals the opportunity to gain up to 6 continuing education credits at no cost to them.

The Cultural Competency Program for Oral Health Professionals will equip participants with the awareness and skills necessary to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services to all patients. The HHS Office of Minority Health has strived to produce a creative and practical program, based on expert and target user feedback, which will help oral health professionals deliver a higher quality of care for all of their patients.

In addition, the e-learning program is designed to equip oral health professionals with the basic cultural and linguistic competency knowledge and skills so that they can:

-Expand their patient base by providing more culturally and linguistically appropriate and responsive oral health care to a wider diversity of patients;

-Decrease clinical errors that may arise due to cultural and linguistic differences in communication and oral health literacy; and

-Gain essential tools to help recognize and lessen the racial and ethnic health care disparities that persist in oral health.

For more information or to access the program, please visit: oralhealth.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov.

For more information on delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate services in other health professions visit: www.ThinkCulturalHealth.hhs.gov.

Washington, DC – Efforts to reduce and stop the spread of infections caused by a highly resistant organism, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, at a large Florida hospital proved ineffective until they added another weapon – weekly emails from the medical director of Infection Control to hospital leadership, according to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

When the hospital added the step of sending comprehensive weekly reports to physician, hospital nursing, medical, and administrative leadership, the rate of A. baumannii transmission decreased by 63%, according to the research team from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Prior to this, endemic rates of A. baumannii had been present at the institution for nearly two decades.

“These regular highly visible communications allowed us to create a sense of accountability for new cases that unified both the leadership and providers toward the common goal of decreasing new acquisitions of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii,” state the study authors.

The study analyzed a 42-month period of hospital data (January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2013) representing 1.1 million patient days. During Phase 1 (2010-2011), the bundle of interventions had been implemented but rates had not changed. During Phase 2 (2011-2012), the medical director of Infection Control sent weekly e-mails to hospital leadership describing and interpreting the surveillance results from the previous week, including the number and location of newly discovered isolates; results of environmental cultures obtained from bed rails, bedside tables, intravenous pumps, and nursing stations; and a map indicating the location of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii-positive patients and objects. Two intensive care units (ICUs) with the highest rates received daily emails. During Phase 3 (2012-2013), the bundle of interventions continued but the weekly e-mails ceased because there were only scattered weekly acquisitions. Overall acquisition of new cases of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii decreased from 5.13 per 10,000 patient days in Period 1, to 1.93 in Period 3.

“These weekly emails not only packaged information on the number and locations of new acquisitions of A. baumannii, but also described and explained the results of environmental initiatives, hand culture results, and identification of shared objects among patients,” add the authors. “Additionally, these communications advised the hospital and each ICU’s leaders about the infection control data and provided action plans based on the findings.”

The bundle of infection prevention measures included 1) patient screening tests upon admission to the ICU and weekly thereafter; 2) isolation and separation of patients testing positive for A. baumannii; 3) weekly sampling of surfaces in the hospital environment to assess thoroughness of cleaning; 4) hand hygiene interventions, including random cultures of healthcare workers’ hands, the results of which were included in the weekly reports; 5) observing shared objects that moved from patient-to-patient; and 6) monthly multidisciplinary meetings to discuss all issues related to implementing the bundle.

The authors conclude, “This is the first study to examine the effect of mass electronic dissemination of results from a bundle of interventions. Weekly electronic communications were associated with a striking decrease in the rate of new acquisitions of A. baumannii at our institution probably because of a combination of education, communication, feedback, and peer pressure.”

Acinetobacter baumannii is a type of gram-negative bacteria that is resistant to most antibiotics and has become one of the most worrisome and frequent organisms causing healthcare-associated infections in U.S. healthcare facilities.

Infections from A. baumannii occur mainly in intensive care units and affect primarily very ill, wounded, or immunocompromised patients. The germ can remain on wet or dry surfaces for longer than most other organisms, making it harder to eradicate. Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter is classified as a serious threat by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

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Data show more inpatients suffering infections from bacteria resistant to all or nearly all antibiotics

A family of bacteria has become increasingly resistant to last-resort antibiotics during the past decade, and more hospitalized patients are getting lethal infections that, in some cases, are impossible to cure. The findings, published March 5 in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vital Signs report, are a call to action for the entire health care community to work urgently – individually, regionally, and nationally – to protect patients. During just the first half of 2012, almost 200 hospitals and long-term acute care facilities treated at least one patient infected with these bacteria.    

The bacteria, carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE), kill up to half of patients who get bloodstream infections from them. In addition to spreading among patients, often on the hands of health care personnel, CRE bacteria can transfer their resistance to other bacteria within their family. This type of spread can create additional life-threatening infections for patients in hospitals and potentially for otherwise healthy people. Currently, almost all CRE infections occur in people receiving significant medical care in hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, or nursing homes.

“CRE are nightmare bacteria. Our strongest antibiotics don’t work and patients are left with potentially untreatable infections,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH. “Doctors, hospital leaders, and public health, must work together now to implement CDC’s ‘detect and protect’ strategy and stop these infections from spreading.”

Enterobacteriaceae are a family of more than 70 bacteria including Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia colithat normally live in the digestive system. Over time, some of these bacteria have become resistant to a group of antibiotics known as carbapenems, often referred to as last-resort antibiotics. During the last decade, CDC has tracked one type of CRE from a single health care facility to health care facilities in at least 42 states. In some medical facilities, these bacteria already pose a routine challenge to health care professionals. 

The Vital Signs report describes that although CRE bacteria are not yet common nationally, the percentage of enterobacteriaceae that are CRE increased by fourfold in the past decade. One type of CRE, a resistant form of Klebsiella pneumoniae, has shown a sevenfold increase in the last decade. In the U.S., northeastern states report the most cases of CRE.

According to the report, during the first half of 2012, 4% of hospitals treated a patient with a CRE infection. About 18% of long-term acute care facilities treated a patient with a CRE infection during that time.

In 2012, CDC released a concise, practical CRE prevention toolkit with in-depth recommendations for hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, nursing homes and health departments. Key recommendations include:

• enforcing use of infection control precautions (standard and contact precautions)

• grouping patients with CRE together

• dedicating staff, rooms and equipment to the care of patients with CRE whenever possible

• having facilities alert each other when patients with CRE transfer back and forth

• asking patients whether they have recently received care somewhere else (including another country)

• using antibiotics wisely

In addition, CDC recommends screening patients in certain scenarios to determine if they are carrying CRE. Because of the way CRE can be carried by patients from one health care setting to another, facilities are encouraged to work together regionally to implement CRE prevention programs.

These core prevention measures are critical and can significantly reduce the problem today and for the future. In addition, continued investment into research and technology, such as a testing approach called advanced molecular detection, is critical to further prevent and more quickly identify CRE.

“We have seen in outbreak after outbreak that when facilities and regions follow CDC’s prevention guidelines, CRE can be controlled and even stopped,” said Michael Bell, MD, acting director of CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. “As trusted health care providers, it is our responsibility to prevent further spread of these deadly bacteria.”

For more information, please click here to go to the CDC site.

CHICAGO, May 30, 2014 — The ADA Practical Guide to Soft Tissue Oral Disease (P033) is a tool to aid in identifying, diagnosing and treating soft tissue oral disease in everyday clinical practice. This 247-page guide directs readers through screening examinations, description and documentation and differential diagnosis. Readers also can review guidelines for observation and referral using color photos, case studies and discussion, and synopses of best current treatments based on up‐to‐date literature.

Some highlights of the guide include:

- Basic information on how to most effectively and efficiently perform a complete and thorough head and neck soft tissue screening examination.

- An overview of the top 40 oral soft tissue lesions, as well as several less common but life‐threatening conditions such as oral cancer and infections.

- More than 60 brief patient clinical scenarios with diagnostic exercises.

Ideal as a clinical handbook or review guide, The ADA Practical Guide to Soft Tissue Oral Disease (P033) is $59.95 for ADA members and $89.95 retail. To order, call (800) 947-4746 or visit adacatalog.org.

MADISON, Wis. (5/30/14)--The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD), which was founded on the mission of responsible esthetics, recently voiced its support to eliminate non-dentist whitening treatments in North Carolina.

Currently, teeth whitening treatments can be performed by non-dentists in North Carolina. Some of these treatments take place in malls or in tanning salons.

The AACD Board of Directors voted earlier this month to participate in an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of the American Dental Association’s (ADA) position on The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission pending lawsuit.

Academy leaders opted to support the ADA on this issue, which could affect the livelihood of its members.

In 2010, the North Carolina State Board sent cease and desist orders to the non-dentist staffed whitening businesses, acting on the basis that these businesses were violating the state’s Dental Practice Act. However, the FTC contends that the Board acted as a group of competitors, attempting to exclude other competitors from the market.

AACD President Dr. James Hastings, who practices in Placerville, Calif., said the North Carolina State Board acted to protect patients’ oral health, which aligns with the AACD’s mission of responsible esthetics. AACD Members champion treatment that is consistent with the long-term health and needs of patients.

“Patients seeking whitening treatments should always do so from a dentist,” Dr. Hastings said. “Dental professionals can assess a patient’s oral health to ensure teeth and gums are healthy enough for whitening, reduce sensitivity, and ensure a better outcome. A non-dentist does not have the necessary training or education to properly evaluate an individual’s oral health.”

Providing teeth whitening services to a patient in poor oral health, such as a patient with gum disease, can be extremely harmful, Dr. Hastings added. Teeth whitening treatments can vary, and an AACD Member Dentist can help select the right treatment based on the patient’s oral health, severity of staining, and desired results.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case this fall.

North Carolina is not the only state that has seen legal action regarding teeth whitening. Roughly 14 states have changed their laws to exclude non-dental professionals from providing teeth whitening services, and at least 25 states have been ordered to shut down teeth whitening businesses, according to the Institute for Justice.

Click here to read AACD's statement regarding non-dentist teeth whitening procedures.

SOURCE: American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry

CHICAGO, May 23, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children (HSHC), the Foundation of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), announced that it will make more than $1.1 million in Access to Care Grants to 18 organizations this year. This is the largest grant commitment ever made by HSHC.

HSHC will award $301,000 in single-year Access to Care Grants to 16 organizations. Two previous grantees also will be the first recipients of HSHC's Multi-Year Access to Care Grants, receiving $375,000 each over the next five years.

"We will continue cultivating and supporting community-based work through our single year grants, while increasing our investments in multi-year grants so we can better measure our impact over the longer term," said HSHC President Dr. Beverly Largent, D.M.D. "Our greatest impact will be in the ability to demonstrate grantees' success in establishing Dental Homes for underserved kids." 

Since 2010, HSHC has awarded more than $1.8 million in Access to Care Grants to 50 organizations in 18 states, and these grants have helped more than 118,000 children in need.  To put HSHC's grant-making growth in perspective, the Foundation issued slightly less than $100,000 in grants to five organizations in 2010, when it first introduced Access to Care Grants. As the Foundation learned more about the needs of underserved children, it expanded the available Access to Care Grants each year and, in 2014, introduced the Multi-Year Access to Care Grants.

"The best word I have to describe how I feel is proud," said AAPD Chief Executive Officer John Rutkauskas, D.D.S., M.B.A., C.A.E. "We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it's important that we recognize the generous spirit of AAPD members that drives our foundation. None of this would be possible without our members."

The two recipients of the first HSHC multi-year Access to Care Grants are Lehigh Valley Hospital, in Allentown, Pa., and the Ricardo Salinas Pediatric Dental Clinic, in San Antonio, Texas.  Each will receive $75,000 a year over the next five years.

The 2014 single year Access to Care Grantee recipients are:

- Access Community Health Centers; Madison, WI

- Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc.; Arlington, VA

- Central Arizona Shelter Services, Inc.; Phoenix, AZ

- Community Smiles: Expanding Access to Care; Miami, FL

- The Hope Institute for Children and Families; Springfield, IL

- Indiana University School of Dentistry; Indianapolis, IN

- KidSMILES Pediatric Dental Clinic; Dublin, OH

- Mercy Medical Center; Canton, OH 

- Piedmont Regional Dental Clinic; Orange, VA

- Pike County Health Department; Pittsfield, IL

- Rochester General Hospital Foundation; Rochester, NY

- Santa Barbara-Ventura Counties Dental Care Foundation; Ventura, CA

- St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center; Oak Park, IL

- St. Christopher's Foundation for Children; Philadelphia, PA

- St. Vincent de Paul Virginia G. Piper Medical & Dental Clinic; Phoenix, AZ

- Vista Community Clinic; Vista, CA

About Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children: The Foundation of the AAPD 

Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children: The Foundation of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry supports community-based initiatives providing Dental Homes to children whose families cannot afford dental care. Since 2010, HSHC has issued more than $1.8 million in Access to Care Grant commitments to 50 organizations nationwide. HSHC's goal is to release $1 million in annual Access to Care Grants and program support by 2016. To donate, volunteer or learn more about HSHC, visit https://www.healthysmileshealthychildren.org.

SOURCE Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children

Ann Arbor, MI — May 28, 2014 — The University of Michigan School of Dentistry and three other organizations across the state will join forces in an effort to develop a comprehensive interprofessional program to reduce the burden of childhood dental disease in Michigan.  The effort is made possible by the U.S. government’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation which has awarded a $9.4 million grant to the Altarum Institute in Ann Arbor and collaborators including the School of Dentistry, Delta Dental of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Community Health.

The project will test a service delivery model with four important components.  One involves direct work with primary care providers and dentists to identify children at risk.  A second includes promoting evidence-based preventive care in medical settings.  A third involves developing and enhancing health information technologies for referrals between dentists and pediatricians.  A fourth component would implement a state-wide quality monitoring system.

Dr. Margherita Fontana, a professor of dentistry with an extensive clinical research background in childhood caries management, including risk assessment, will provide her expertise and oversee U-M staff and faculty involved in the project.

A professor in the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics, Fontana will help evaluate and select the oral health screening approach to use as well as support the development of training materials for pediatricians.  She will also help develop information and education materials for patients and their families.

Fontana will oversee a pilot clinical program that involves patients, their families and oral health care providers at Mott Children’s Health Center in Flint.  The Center provides oral health care services to Genesee County residents, from birth through age 18, whose families fall within 200 percent of the federal government’s poverty guidelines (annual income of less than $47,700 for a family of four).  She will also serve as a consultant in developing the state-wide monitoring system will provide feedback to individual providers on their performance relative to their peers.

Fontana said research shows that in some parts of the country, as few as 25% of children saw a dentist during the past year.  In 22 states, including Michigan, less than half of children covered by Medicaid received any dental care in 2011.  “For example, on average, 25% of Michigan Head Start children had unmet dental treatment needs, 30% had caries and 23% had untreated caries lesions,” she said.

“Dental caries is an infectious, progressive but yet preventable disease,” Fontana said.  “Left untreated, the disease often has broad dental, medical and quality of life consequences, especially for very young children.”

Fontana said the four organizations involved “represent a unique coalition of interested groups whose focus will be on interprofessional prevention of this disease, because prevention is always less costly, in the long run.”  

While childhood dental caries is relatively inexpensive to prevent, dental decay is the most prevalent chronic condition among children in the U.S. and the most common unmet health care need of poor children across the country and the state.  She noted that as much as 80% of caries is experienced by only 20-25% of the population, and that children from the lowest socio-economic groups experience caries at significantly higher rates and at younger ages than their peers.  The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that rates of early dental caries of children ages 2-5 increased from 24% (1988-1994) to 27% (1999-2004).

CHICAGO, May 28, 2014—Marking 69 years of community water fluoridation, the American Dental Association (ADA), the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently honored 130 states and communities with 2013 Fluoridation Awards at the National Oral Health Conference at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel.

The honorees are:

- California earned the State Fluoridation Initiative Award as the state having the greatest increase in population receiving fluoridated water in 2013.

- Storm Lake, Iowa; Hounsfield Water District No. 5, New York; and Bradford, Vermont, were recognized with Community Fluoridation Initiative Awards for passing water fluoridation initiatives during 2013.

- Another 30 communities in 13 states earned Fluoridation Reaffirmation Awards for defeating initiatives to discontinue fluoridation or approving initiatives to maintain fluoridation.

- Nine states earned State Fluoridation Quality Awards for maintaining the quality of fluoridation and optimal fluoride levels.

- 85 water systems in 29 states earned Fifty Year Awards for achieving 50 years of continuous water fluoridation during the past calendar year.

In addition, the “Tampa Bay Times” and Pinellas County Dental Association, Upper Pinellas County Dental Association and Pinellas County Oral Health Coalition received Fluoridation Merit Awards for their efforts to reinstate fluoridation in Pinellas County, Fla., after county commissioners voted to stop fluoridating in 2011. The “Tampa Bay Times” earned a Pulitzer Prize in 2013 for its pro-fluoridation editorials and the local dental associations and oral health coalition were instrumental in mounting a grassroots effort to bring fluoridated water back to nearly 1 million people in the county.

Visit ADA.org for the complete list of winners.

ATLANTA — Carestream Dental has announced a partnership with Zimmer Dental Inc., a leading provider of dental oral rehabilitation products, and the Zimmer Institute, a world leader in the educational field of oral rehabilitation. The partnership involves the placement of Carestream Dental’s CS 9300, an all-in-one extraoral imaging system that supports a wide range of clinical applications for different oral health specialties, at the Zimmer Institute located in Parsippany, N.J.

As a leader in implantology educational programs, the Zimmer Institute provides an interactive learning environment to enhance training. With four locations, the Zimmer Institute has served the needs of more than 6,000 clinicians globally over the last nine years.

“We have partnered with Zimmer Dental to meet the growing educational needs of clinicians,” Keith Pirkle, national director, corporate sales and partnerships, Carestream Dental, said. “By adding our CS 9300 to the Zimmer Institute, we hope to further advance dental education that will take implantology to a new level.”

“This newly formed partnership with Carestream Dental is significant in that it further exemplifies Zimmer’s longstanding commitment to the field of dental education,” Harold C. Flynn, Zimmer Dental president, said. “By providing the latest implantation technology available to our clinicians, Zimmer is ensuring that clinicians have the experience and education they need to excel in their careers and to help improve the quality of life for patients around the world.”

Over the past few years, 3D imaging has become an important tool to the modern dental practice. Imaging systems, like the CS 9300, provide enhanced images through advanced cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) that allow practitioners to uncover critical information that cannot be detected when relying solely upon 2D imaging. In addition to improved diagnoses and treatment planning, practitioners who have taken advantage of 3D imaging systems have discovered an improvement in doctor-patient communication, as patients are more likely to comprehend their diagnosis when the clinician can point out the problem on a more realistic 3D image rather than a static 2D image.

Sharing the CS 9300 with the Zimmer Institute’s students gives them the advantage as they enhance and refine their skills. The dental industry is rapidly changing and it’s vital that students have the opportunity to work hands-on with the latest technology so that they can more accurately diagnose and treat patients in the future. 

"I remain extremely impressed with the Zimmer Institute facility and training capabilities,” Dr. Maurice Salama, an industry-leading dental implantologist who serves as an instructor at the Zimmer Institute, said. “The utilization of both high-tech mannequin and cadaver labs, along with Carestream Dental’s CS 9300 CBCT imaging system and software, provides a very dynamic and robust educational opportunity for all attendees. This combination of Carestream Dental's diagnostic 3D imaging and the Zimmer Institute's cutting-edge facility and products is the new template for dental implant education. I am most pleased by their collective collaboration with LIVE courses and their support of the digital educational platform provided by DentalXP."