In my seminars, it is interesting to see the increased interest in implant dentistry. I am fielding more questions in that area than any other, so that is the reason for the “How to Profit From” focus on implants this month. Drs. Jeffrey Hoos and Nolen Levine have great articles on the benefits of adding implants to your practice.
Now is the time to get on the cutting edge of dentistry by booking some continuing-education courses for yourself and your team. Staff members (clinical and nonclinical) are important to the implant practice. Be sure to get everyone in your practice on board and excited about adding this new service. I find adding a new treatment to my practice is mentally challenging, but once learned, the new service often becomes a life-changing benefit for my patients, allowing them to live their lives more fully.
I have some very exciting news about a new magazine that has been launched by the PennWell Dental Division. I know that all of you have been following the breakthrough information on the connection between diseases we see in the mouth and the rest of the body. If you are like me, you have had a difficult time finding that information in a user- friendly form.
Now PennWell is changing all of that with Grand Rounds in Oral-Systemic Medicine™. The magazine’s first issue was launched at the Chicago Midwinter meeting in February, and was received most enthusiastically by dentists and hygienists. The cover story in the magazine’s first issue was on “The Significance of Periodontal Infection in Cardiology.” Sounds pretty heavy, doesn’t it? This is a peer-reviewed magazine that will publish evidence-based articles quarterly.
The Grand Rounds Chief Editor is Ms. Casey Hein, BSDH, MBA, and the Editor-at-Large is Charles Cobb, DDS, MS, PhD. The Grand Rounds Advisory Board is made up of a group of 38 dentists, physicians, hygienists, and researchers from around the country.
After reading the first issue, I was amazed at the things I learned about the connections between oral health issues and general overall health. The articles are well-written and easy-to-read, but packed full of information. I urge you to either get the first issue (dated February 2006) or go to http://gr.pennnet.com/ and view the entire magazine. By the time you read this, the second issue will be waiting for you to explore.
I would like to close this month’s Editor’s Note with a portion of the first paragraph from a “Letter from the Editors” in the first issue of Grand Rounds. I think it eloquently describes the magazine.
“Without question, the last decade of research in oral-systemic medicine has provided us with extraordinary scientific findings. However, scientific study that is not translated and used in daily practice is wasted. To that end, ensuring that important scientific study is translated for adoption into daily practice is no small challenge. It has been estimated that it takes about 20 years for findings of new research or novel technologies to be fully adopted and implemented into the health-care system. Our experiences mirror the reality of that statement. In discussions with practitioners from around the country, the area of education most consistently cited as being inadequate is oral-systemic medicine and its implementation ... The impetus behind this new editorial concept called Grand Rounds in Oral-Systemic Medicine™ was our mutual pursuit of a reliable mechanism to transfer the findings of credible research on oral-systemic medicine into mainstream dentistry. Those health-care professionals who do not recognize this body of emerging science called oral-systemic medicine will miss a valuable window of opportunity for therapeutic intervention.”
A worthy mission indeed! Grand Rounds will be distributed not only to dentists and hygienists, but also to 10,000 physicians and nurses.
Joe Blaes, DDS, Editor - e-mail: [email protected]
Toll-free phone number: (866) 274-4500
