Adult Oral Health

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This course addresses how adult oral health is impacted by factors such as disease, aging, medication, and substance use. Clinicians will review risk factors and etiologies of oral conditions, as well as appropriate treatment and referral procedures. This module also addresses effective oral disease prevention, dental care coordination for patients requiring antibiotic prophylaxis, and collaborative anticoagulation management in patients undergoing oral procedures.

Educational Objectives for the Adult Oral Health Course are:

  • Recognize adult caries and gum disease, gingivitis and periodontal disease.
  • Describe the oral effects of common medications, tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.
  • Identify factors, including chronic medical conditions, that influence oral health.
  • List indications for antibiotic prophylaxis for dental procedures.
  • Demonstrate understanding of dental procedure management in anticoagulated patients.
  • Identify and manage common oral lesions.

This course takes approximately one hour to complete. Each clinical case takes about 10 minutes.

If you are already logged in, scroll down to the Course Content and select a topic to begin this course. If you are not logged in, select the green Register for Courses link above. You can navigate through the course by pressing the "Next Page" and "Previous Page" buttons, or select each page on the left sidebar menu. The "Mark Complete" button will also automatically advance the page. If you are only completing a few pages at  a time, you may utilize the "Mark Complete" feature at the bottom to track your progress in each course. It is not necessary to mark each page to complete the course or to be eligible to take the assessment.  

Acknowledgements

All authors involved in producing the content of this course have indicated they have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Course Steering Committee Authors

  • Stephanie Gill, M.D.
  • Wanda Gonsalves, M.D.
  • Lisa Simon, M.D.

Dental Consultant

  • Rocio Quinonez, D.M.D., M.S., M.P.H.

Smiles for Life Editor

  • Karlynn Sievers, M.D.
  • Melinda Clark, M.D.

The images in this course are not to be reproduced/downloaded for purposes other than personal use.

Republication, retransmission, reproduction or other use of the Licensed Material is prohibited.

Last Modified:
July, 2023

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