Six dental schools have closed in the last decade and others are in jeopardy. Facing this uncertainty about the status of dental education and the continued tension between educators and practitioners, leaders in the profession have recognized the need for purpose and direction. This comprehensive volumeâ€"the first to cover the education, research, and patient care missions of dental schoolsâ€"offers specific recommendations on oral health assessment, access to dental care, dental school curricula, financing for education, research priorities, examinations and licensing, workforce planning, and other key areas. Well organized and accessible, the book: Recaps the evolution of dental practice and education. Reviews key indicators of oral health status, outlines oral health goals, and discusses implications for education. Addresses major curriculum concerns. Examines health services that dental schools provide to patients and communities. Looks at faculty and student involvement in research. Explores the relationship of dental education to the university, the dental profession, and society at large. Accreditation, the dental workforce, and other critical policy issues are highlighted as well. Of greatest interest to deans, faculty, administrators, and students at dental schools, as well as to academic health centers and universities, this book also will be informative for health policymakers, dental professionals, and dental researchers.

Progress in information technology has fostered a global explosion of data generation. Accumulated big data are now estimated to be 4.4 zettabytes in the digital universe; and trends predict an exponential increase in the future. Health data are gathered from professional routine care and other expanded sources including the social determinants of health, such as Internet of Things. Biomedical research has recently moved through three stages in digital healthcare: (1) data collection; (2) data sharing; and (3) data analytics. With the explosion of stored health data, dental medicine is edging into its fourth stage of digitization using new technologies including augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. Big data collaborations involve interactions between a diverse range of stakeholders with analytical, technical and political focus. In oral healthcare, data technology has many areas of application: prognostic analysis and predictive modeling, the identification of unknown correlations of diseases, clinical decision support for novel treatment concepts, public health surveys and population-based clinical research, as well as the evaluation of healthcare systems. The objective of this Special Issue is to provide an update on the current knowledge with state-of-the-art theory and practical information on human and social perspectives that determine the uptake of technological innovations in big data science in the field of dental medicine. Moreover, it will focus on the identification of future research needs to manage the continuous increase in health data and to accomplish its clinical translation for patient-centered research and personalized dentistry. This Special Issue welcomes all types of studies and reviews considering the perspectives of different stakeholders on technological innovations for big data science in all dental disciplines. Kind regards,

Learn about the challenges, current trends, and the positive role that you can play in improving the dental health of the community. Completely revised and updated by members of the American Association of Public Health Dentistry, Burt and Eklund's Dentistry, Dental Practice, and the Community, 7th Edition presents dentistry and dental practice against the ever-changing backdrop of economic, technological, and demographic trends, as well as the distribution of the oral diseases that dental professionals treat and prevent. Readers will learn the latest techniques of research and measurement, and how oral disease may be limited through control and prevention. This updated text also addresses the new educational competencies for predoctoral/ post-doctoral dental students and dental hygiene students with updated and new content on cultural competency, oral health literacy, social responsibility, motivational interviewing, and oral systemic associations. All in all, this text takes a comprehensive look at the social context of dental care and the difference you can make in improving the health of the community you serve. Logical four-part organization divides content into dentistry and the community; dental care delivery; methods and measurement of oral diseases and conditions; and health promotion and prevention of oral diseases. A focus on need-to-know content emphasizes the important core information while providing comprehensive coverage of dental public health. Comprehensive analysis of dentistry’s social and professional role examines issues such as epidemiology of oral diseases, prevention, and the provision of care. Evidence-based recommendations reflect the latest literature on today’s public health issues. Illustrations, tables, and graphics illustrate the key material and visually enhance discussions. NEW! Completely revised and updated content looks at populations oral health and dental care as well as how it fits into a changing world. NEW! Coverage of new educational competencies provides predoctoral/ post-doctoral dental students and dental hygiene students with updated and new content on cultural competency, oral health literacy, social responsibility, motivational interviewing, and oral systemic associations. NEW! New chapters cover the applications of epidemiology and biostatistics in dental public health, oral health as it related to quality of life, oral health education, health literacy, social determinants of health and health disparities, and delivery of oral healthcare in Canada. NEW! Newly revised competencies for the Dental Public Health specialty are incorporated throughout the book.