This study compared the interpersonal communication skills of seventy-eight third-year dental students when interacting with their patients before and after they participated in a thirty-five-hour course that addressed recognition of anxiety, interviewing techniques, patient records, behavior management, and patient relations. Students were evaluated before and after attending the course by psychology graduate students who used a behavioral observation form that measured expressive and receptive communication skills, nonverbal communication skills, professional presentation, and sensitivity to cultural, ethnic, and gender diversity. At the conclusion of this course, students' interpersonal skills were rated significantly higher than prior to the course at the p<.0001 level. The outcomes of this study indicate that effective communication between dental students and their patients may be acquired and refined through a course that addresses basic interviewing skills.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and characteristics of dental erosion in children aged 2-4 years old and 12 years old. Study design: 243 subjects were recruited from daycare centers, preschools, and grade schools; they received dental examinations assessing their condition of dental erosion, including both depth and area of tooth surface loss on four maxillary incisors. Questionnaires were given to the subjects to obtain socio-demographic, oral health behaviors at home, and access to dental care. Dental erosion was analyzed and risk factors were assessed using Chi-Square and logistic regression analysis. Results: The subjects were 60% Caucasians, 31% Black, 7% Hispanic and others were 2%. 34% of children could not get the dental care they needed within the past 12 months and 61% of all children brushed their teeth twice or more daily. Overall, 12% of study children had dental erosion with 13% for 2-4 years old and 10% for 12 years old, with the majority of erosive lesions within enamel. Family income (OR 3.98, p=0.021) and acidic fruit juice consumption (OR 2.38, p=0.038) were significant risk factors for dental erosion, even after controlling for other factors, such as source of drinking water and oral hygiene using logistic regression analysis. Conclusions: Dental erosion is a relatively common problem among the children in this study and it is seen as a multi-factorial process.

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Renal osteodystrophy, characterized by uneven bone growth and demineralization, is described. Oral manifestations of the disorder are described, and the value of dental radiographs in early detection of renal osteodystrophy is noted. A case report of a patient with severe oral complications, which resulted from long-standing end-stage renal disease and secondary hyperparathyroidism, is presented. Giant cell lesions of hyperparathyroidism, referred to as brown tumors (which may be associated with pain and swelling), are the key clinical oral manifestations and are the most dramatic dental radiographic finding in patients with renal osteodystrophy. Bone changes may include loss of lamina dura, giant cell lesions of hyperparathyroidism, and bone demineralization. The dentist's role in detection, assessment, and treatment is stressed.

Interprofessional and intraprofessional education (when students from two or more professions or within the same profession, respectively, learn about, from, and/or with each other) is crucial for effective interdisciplinary collaboration. The aims of this study were to assess the effectiveness of a clinical intraprofessional education program for dental and dental hygiene students, based on students' expectations and satisfaction with the program and patients' satisfaction with the team-based care. The pilot program was developed at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry, where dental hygiene students were paired randomly with dental students scheduled for prophylaxis, scaling and root planing, or periodontal maintenance. Surveys with questions about the students' expectations and satisfaction were distributed to 89 senior dental students and 27 senior dental hygiene students before and after team-based procedures. Another survey was distributed to 17 patients asking about their satisfaction with the team-based care. All 27 dental hygiene students (100% response rate), 51 dental students (57.3% response rate), and all 17 patients (100% response rate) participated in the surveys. The results showed that both the dental and dental hygiene students had high expectations and were overall satisfied with the intraprofessional education. The students' expectations and perceived educational gap (difference between expectations and satisfaction) differed for the dental and dental hygiene students (p<0.001). The male dental students were also more satisfied than the female dental students (p<0.01). Overall, the program met or exceeded the students' expectations, and the patients were overwhelmingly satisfied with the team-based care. These results suggest that this intraprofessional practice model provided an effective educational experience for both dental and dental hygiene students and patients. The differences between the dental hygiene and dental students' expectations will help in the design of more effective training that promotes intraprofessional and interprofessional teamwork.