Kathryn Gilliam

This is an exciting time to be a dental health professional as dentistry and dental hygiene are both growing as medical specialties. As our understanding of the multiple links between the mouth and the body has increased, our roles have expanded to include awareness of and focus on the whole health of our patients.

Traditionally, dental health care practitioners have not approached dental disease in the same way that medical doctors approach systemic diseases. There is much to be gained by adopting certain medical strategies, such as performing risk assessment, seeking the root cause, employing laboratory testing, and utilizing wound care protocols, into our routine dental care.

We must try to unravel the complex interactions between host susceptibility, immune response, genetic associations, behavioral components, and disease control.

As knowledge of the oral-systemic connections has become widely understood and accepted, the next step is to integrate that knowledge into practical clinical protocols. It’s time to elevate our identities as healthcare practitioners in this new age of integrated medicine and dentistry.

Learning Objectives

After completion of this course, you will:

• Discover four tenants of medical management of periodontal disease: risk assessment, root cause, laboratory testing, and wound care
• Illuminate the significance and challenges of oral biofilm
• Explore leading edge practices to integrate medical protocols into dental routines efficiently and effectively

Suggested Format: Full or Partial Day Workshop
Suggested Audience: Dentist, Hygienist, and Team

Periodontal pathogens and inflammation have devastating effects on systemic health. Learn how dental professionals save lives by transitioning traditional dental practice to whole health care.

Periodontal disease contributes to many catastrophic systemic illnesses, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Dental professionals can impact patient wellness by utilizing a medical model of care in the diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease. Elevate the professional identity of your practice while increasing personal and professional satisfaction in your team! Create a wellness-centered practice with an informed team that inspires confidence in patients, improving both the overall quality of patient care and practice financial health.

In this comprehensive, fast-paced course, explore the science behind the oral-systemic connection and survey systemic diseases associated with periodontal disease. Identify how to integrate diagnostic testing into the practice, implement adjunctive therapies, and compare home hygiene options. In addition, examine medical conditions, such as diabetes and cancer, that affect dental treatment, and learn how to manage medically compromised patients.

Learning Objectives

After completion of this course, you will:

• Comprehend the role of keystone bacteria and inflammation in periodontal disease and its effect on systemic health
• Illuminate the significance and challenges of oral biofilm
• Discover how medical wound care protocols can be utilized in the treatment of periodontal disease
• Recognize systemic health problems within the dental maintenance appointment
• Explore leading-edge techniques and technologies to enhance periodontal treatment
• Gain the screening tools used to determine the extent of periodontal infection and genetic risk
• Elevate communication skills to educate and engage patients in their health choices and treatment considerations

Suggested Format: Full or Partial Day Workshop
Suggested Audience: Dentist, Hygienist, and Team

At least 3 million Americans are living with celiac disease and 97% of them are undiagnosed. Silent damage to health could be occurring with every meal. Dental practitioners can improve patients’ quality of life and longevity by recognizing oral signs of this devastating disease.

Celiac disease is a serious autoimmune disorder in which the immune system of genetically predisposed people mounts an attack in response to gluten, a protein found in grains and products made from grains such as processed foods, medicines, and cosmetics. This immune system response results in destruction that an affect multiple body systems. Left untreated, celiac disease can result in serious systemic complications by injuring the small intestine and reducing its ability to absorb nutrients. In time, the damage may escalate to skin rashes, lactose intolerance, infertility, bone weakness, and nerve damage. Recognition of the oral manifestations of celiac disease may be the key to discovering this devastating disease in patients whose symptoms are less evident.

In this course you will become familiar with the various signs and symptoms that may be pointing to this serious systemic illness. Helping patients understand that they may have gluten-related disorders could be the key to a lifetime of improved health.

Learning Objectives

After completion of this course, you will:

• Discover the cause, extent, and consequences of celiac disease
• Identify sources of gluten and how gluten affects sensitive individuals
• Distinguish other possible causes of gluten sensitivity
• Recognize the oral manifestations of celiac disease

Suggested Format: Full or Partial Day Workshop
Suggested Audience: Dentist, Hygienist, and Team

It is estimated that approximately 23 million adults in the United States have undiagnosed or untreated moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. Breathing is the most essential function of our bodies. Without oxygen, we cannot survive. Yet until recently, breathing was not considered a part of dentistry’s scope of practice. With new scientific discoveries we are learning about the critical role of the form and function of oral structures in sleep disordered breathing.

In October 2017, the American Dental Association (ADA) released a policy statement addressing dentistry’s role in sleep-related disorders encouraging dental professionals to screen their patients for obstructive sleep apnea and upper airway resistance syndrome; advocates working with medical colleagues; and emphasizes the effectiveness of intraoral appliance therapy for treating patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea and CPAP-intolerant patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea.

Screening for and treating sleep-related breathing disorders has become the newest focus of integrated dental practice. Breathe life into your patients with an airway centered practice.

Learning Objectives

After completion of this course, you will:

• Identify various types of sleep-disordered breathing
• Describe effective screening process for identifying sleep-disordered breathing
• Appraise the risks of undiagnosed and untreated sleep-disordered breathing
• Recognize the signs and symptoms for sleep-disordered breathing in children and adults
• Distinguish the treatment options available for sleep-disordered breathing

Suggested Format: Full or Partial Day Workshop
Suggested Audience: Dentist, Hygienist, and Team

Yesterday’s protocols don’t work for today’s oral cancer. Rates of head and neck cancers continue to increase at an alarming rate while other cancers are significantly declining. One reason for the increase is the escalation in transmission of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Three Minutes to Save a Life HPV has become a significant factor in the upturn of oral and oropharyngeal cancer. HPV-positive cancers have a different presentation than HPV-negative cancers, and therefore require different screening protocols which will be illuminated in this course. Dental professionals understand the importance of early detection, but many lack confidence in knowing what to look for and what to do if they find a suspicious lesion. Acquire a step-by-step protocol for extra-oral, intra-oral and upper oropharyngeal cancer examination procedures, as well as an exact plan to follow should a suspicious lesion be detected. You will come away from this hands-on workshop with the tools, the confidence, and the motivation to perform this essential examination, to set your practice apart, and to save lives.

Learning Objectives

After completion of this course, you will:

• Acknowledge the importance of early oral cancer detection and develop a philosophy of care
• Highlight risk factors including alcohol, tobacco, and HPV
• Discover early detection devices
• Master extra- and intra-oral examination techniques
• Explain the screening process and skillfully verbalize your findings with the patient
• Identify and utilize the correct terminology to accurately describe lesions
• Discuss cytology, biopsy, referral, and follow-up protocols
• Gain techniques for the management of the side effects and oral manifestations of chemotherapy and radiation

Suggested Format: Full or Partial Day Workshop
Suggested Audience: Dentist, Hygienist, and Team

Studies show that people heal better and faster and are more compliant with treatment recommendations when they feel their caregivers truly care. And research reveals that health care professionals are happier and suffer less burnout when they show empathy and compassion for their patients. One of the best ways to demonstrate for your patients that you truly care about them is to actively listen to them. Most people believe they are good listeners however, studies show the majority of people don’t listen fully. Good listening skills are becoming an endangered species in the healthcare setting due to overcrowded schedules and the need to multitask. Information overload and shortened attention spans also contribute to the demise of good listening skills.

In this course, we will discuss the physiological benefits of empathy and compassion in healthcare as well practical, step-by-step methods of showing empathy, including the development of enhanced listening skills.

Learning Objectives

After completion of this course, you will:

• Comprehend the importance of empathy and compassion in patient care
• Detail the characteristics of empathetic and compassionate care giving
• Gain compassionate and active listening skills

Suggested Format: Full or Partial Day Workshop
Suggested Audience: Dentist, Hygienist, and Team