Being selected to participate in the 100 attendee Champion’s conference held at ADA headquarters March 25-27 has given me a whole new perspective on research. Although I was acquainted with Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD), I still had a lot to learn. It began with a hands-on walk-through of the American Dental Association EBD website, familiarization of EBD terms and links, and a practice session. Experts on EBD, including the founder of The Cochrane Collections (gold standard of EBD), shared their methods of EBD application in a variety of settings; these included dental practices, educational facilities, and more. Fourteen tables of attendees had brainstorming sessions and shared outcomes with conference attendees. This process and the information shared stimulated me to return to the internet for research every day.
Some of the common knowledge facts that I believed were challenged and I was able to use new tools and techniques to discover the most current information. As important, meeting and getting to know colleagues with whom to collaborate with on future EBD projects, is a valuable outcome of this conference.
My thanks go out to Proctor & Gamble and ADA for providing this excellent opportunity to combine evidence with clinical judgment and patient needs to enhance my ability to make better decisions, share valid information, and provide better patient guidance and care.
Showing posts with label dental hygiene. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dental hygiene. Show all posts
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Relief to the underserved populations
Who am I?
With a Masters Degree in Training and Development and over 20 years experience as a dental hygienist and a dental hygiene educator, I have developed in-depth senior and special needs oral training programs that combine various learning methods to provide caregivers the opportunity to transfer new skills to their patients. Programs include oral care for patients with cognitive impairment, mental retardation, Down's syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and age-related issues. I founded a company in 2006 to help meet the needs of these individuals and care providers called SOFT Smiles: Specialized Oral Focused Training. My motto is "Good Oral Health for Life" ©
Why am I writing this blog?
Due to the documented need for improved access to care and provision of care to the underserved populations, I believe that more attention needs to be paid to making necessary changes to reduce this disparity. Cognitively impaired (dementia, Alzheimer’s disease), physically impaired (stroke, Parkinson’s disease, etc) and Special Patients (mental retardation, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, etc) are the focus of this blog. By writing this blog, I hope to hear from those of you who have personal experience with these population groups. What issues do you or someone you know have with access to care? How is research making a difference to these individuals, families, caregivers? Although I live in the world of academia, community service, patient care, as well as educating/training caregivers and families is my passion.
With a Masters Degree in Training and Development and over 20 years experience as a dental hygienist and a dental hygiene educator, I have developed in-depth senior and special needs oral training programs that combine various learning methods to provide caregivers the opportunity to transfer new skills to their patients. Programs include oral care for patients with cognitive impairment, mental retardation, Down's syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and age-related issues. I founded a company in 2006 to help meet the needs of these individuals and care providers called SOFT Smiles: Specialized Oral Focused Training. My motto is "Good Oral Health for Life" ©
Why am I writing this blog?
Due to the documented need for improved access to care and provision of care to the underserved populations, I believe that more attention needs to be paid to making necessary changes to reduce this disparity. Cognitively impaired (dementia, Alzheimer’s disease), physically impaired (stroke, Parkinson’s disease, etc) and Special Patients (mental retardation, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, etc) are the focus of this blog. By writing this blog, I hope to hear from those of you who have personal experience with these population groups. What issues do you or someone you know have with access to care? How is research making a difference to these individuals, families, caregivers? Although I live in the world of academia, community service, patient care, as well as educating/training caregivers and families is my passion.
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