Dental and Oral Health
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Oct 06-07, 2025 Tokyo, Japan

International Conference onDental and Oral Health

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Abstract Submission Opens: Dec 23, 2024

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Dentistry A to Z: H is for happy anesthesia

2024-12-20 - 2024-12

As a veterinary dentist with nearly 5 decades of experience, I've amassed more than 53,000 dental and oral cavity images in storage on my laptop. At my wife's encouragement this past November, I ventured beyond my comfort range to focus on a 5-day landscape nature photography trip in Utah's Badlands. The experience broadened my photographic skills and provided unexpected insights into veterinary anesthesia practices.
The transition from handheld dental macrophotography to landscape photography using a tripod and long lenses required adjustments in technique and approach. (Figure 1) This adaptability is necessary in veterinary medicine, where embracing new technologies and equipment is crucial for optimal patient care.
The tripod analogy: Strength in photography and anesthesia
Using a tripod in nature photography can be likened to the foundational principles of successful veterinary anesthesia. Just as a tripod provides stability and support for capturing clear, sharp images, the 3 critical synergistic components of anesthesia-patient evaluation, tailored anesthesia protocols, and vital sign monitoring-form a stable base for safe and effective anesthetic procedures. Client communication is equally important in achieving happy anesthesia results. We need to take the time to explain the necessity of anesthesia for proper dental care, potential risks and benefits, expected recovery time, and postoperative care instructions. This open dialogue helps alleviate owner anxiety and sets realistic expectations for the procedure and recovery process.

Patient evaluation
Similar to assessing the landscape before setting up a shot, thorough preanesthetic evaluation is crucial for identifying potential risks and tailoring the anesthetic approach. The American Veterinary Medical Association and American Animal Hospital Association mandate that all dental procedures be performed under general anesthesia. This makes sense, but how can you transform the anxiety caused by general anesthesia in dentistry into a blissful experience for you and your patients? Start with the physical examination and testing to determine the American Society of Anesthesiologists scoring. In addition to the physical examination and history, the ASA score helps you decide what additional testing is indicated before anesthesia.
The patient assessment may include comprehensive blood work Complete blood cell count, chemistry panel, and electrolytes, urinalysis, chest radiographs for older patients or those with suspected cardiopulmonary issues, and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). This detailed evaluation helps identify any underlying health concerns affecting anesthesia safety.
One example is our dog KC, a 4-year-old Polish lowland sheepdog, which we had since a puppy and had no clinical signs of kidney disease. It was time for his first professional comprehensive oral prevention, assessment, and treatment visit. His blood tests revealed end-stage kidney disease

Faster claiming for dental attrition when bruxism is involved

2024-12-13 - 2024-12

Since 2007, DVA has introduced policies that allow simpler processing of claims for certain medical conditions where exposures in ADF service, a certain type of ADF service or, in some cases, a previously accepted medical condition are known to meet causal factors. This occurs through policies known as 'streamlining' or 'straight through processing'.
Where a veteran has a diagnosed condition and meets the relevant criteria for application of the policies, usually no further evidence is required to establish a connection between the condition and military service.
As part of this work, DVA has recently added 'dental attrition' arising from bruxism to the list of conditions subject to streamlining. This means that where a veteran has had bruxism accepted as service-related, a claim for dental attrition will be subject to faster processing.
Bruxism is a medical condition that involves excessive tooth grinding or jaw clenching. It can give rise to a separate condition - dental attrition - which involves damage from tooth-to-tooth contact. There are now more than 80 medical conditions subject to these policies, and this change will allow for quicker access to compensation and treatment for dental attrition for eligible veterans who have bruxism caused by service.

Why isn't dental included in Medicare? It's time to change this - here's how

2024-09-22 - 2024-12

When the forerunner of Medicare was established in the 1970s, dental care was left out. Australians are still suffering the consequences half a century later.
Patients pay much more of the cost of dental care than they do for other kinds of care.
More Australians delay or skip dental care because of cost than their peers in most wealthy countries.
And as our dental health gets worse, fees keep on rising.
For decades, a litany of reports and inquiries have called for universal dental coverage to solve these problems.
Now, with the Greens proposing it and Labor backbenchers supporting it, could it finally be time to put the mouth into Medicare?

What's stopping us?
The Australian Dental Association says the idea is too ambitious and too costly, pointing out it would need many more dental workers. They say the government should start small, focusing on the most vulnerable populations, initially seniors.
Starting small is sensible, but finishing small would be a mistake.
Dental costs aren't just a problem for the most vulnerable, or the elderly. More than two million Australians avoid dental care because of the cost.
More than four in ten adults usually wait more than a year before seeing a dental professional.
Bringing dental into Medicare will require many thousands of new dental workers. But it will be possible if the scheme is phased in over ten years.
The real reason dental hasn't been added to Medicare is it would cost billions of dollars. The federal government doesn't have that kind of money lying around.
Australia has a structural budget problem. Government spending is growing faster than revenue, because we are a relatively low-tax country with high service expectations.
The growing cost of health care is a major contributor, with hospitals and medical benefits among the top six fastest-growing major payments.
The structural gap is only likely to grow without major policy changes.
So, can we afford health care for all? We can. But we should do it with smart choices on dental care, and tough choices to raise revenue and reduce spending elsewhere.

Smart choices about a new dental scheme
The first step is to avoid repeating the mistakes of Medicare.
Medicare payments to private businesses haven't attracted them to a lot of the communities that need them the most. Many rural and disadvantaged areas are bulk-billing deserts with too few GPs.
The poorest areas have more than twice the psychological distress of the wealthiest areas, but they get about half the Medicare-funded mental health services.
As a result, government money isn't going where it will make the biggest difference.
There are about 80,000 hospital visits each year for dental problems that could have been avoided with dental care. If there is too little care in disadvantaged and rural communities, where oral health is worst, that number will remain high.
That's why a significant share of new investment should be quarantined for public dental services, with

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