Diagnostic imaging for chronic orofacial pain, maxillofacial osseous and soft tissue pathology and temporomandibular disorders.

Since dentists can be faced by unusual cases during their professional life, this article reviews the common orofacial disorders that are of concern to a dentist trying to diagnose the source of pain or dysfunction symptoms, providing an overview of the essential knowledge and usage of nowadays available advanced diagnostic imaging modalities. In addition to symptom-driven diagnostic dilemmas, where such imaging is utilized, occasionally there are asymptomatic anomalies discovered by routine clinical care and/or on dental or panoramic images that need more discussion. The correct selection criteria of an image exam should be based on the individual characteristics of the patient, and the type of imaging technique should be selected depending on the specific clinical problem, the kind of tissue to be visualized, the information obtained from the imaging modality, radiation exposure, and the cost of the examination. The usage of more specialized imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, ultrasound, as well as single photon computed tomography, positron electron tomography, and their hybrid machines, SPECT/ CT and PET/CT, are discussed.

Derangement, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis of the temporomandibular joint: implications, diagnosis, and management.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction is often believed to bea young person's malady. However, geriatric patients also present with clinical findings of TMJ clicking, locking, crepitation, limited opening, and pain. With our aging population and the high prevalence of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases in the elderly, it is important to understand the etiopathogenesis, clinical presentation, and management of derangement, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis of the TMJ. Although arthritis of the TMJ usually causes only mild-to-moderate dysfunction in older patients, they present challenges related to medication use and comorbidity. This article presents the most recent understanding and therapeutic protocols for patient diagnosis and management.

Improving the oral health status of all Americans: roles and responsibilities of academic dental institutions: the report of the ADEA President's Commission.

Academic dental institutions are the fundamental underpinning of the nation's oral health. Education, research, and patient care are the cornerstones of academic dentistry that form the foundation upon which the dental profession rises to provide care to the public. The oral health status of Americans has improved dramatically over the past twenty-five to thirty years. In his 2000 report on oral health, the Surgeon General acknowledges the success of the dental profession in improving the oral health status of Americans over the past twenty-five years, but he also juxtaposes this success to profound and consequential disparities in the oral health of Americans. In 2002, the American Dental Education Association brought together an ADEA President's Commission of national experts to explore the roles and responsibilities of academic dental institutions in improving the oral health status of all Americans. They have issued this report and made a variety of policy recommendations, including a Statement of Position, to the 2003 ADEA House of Delegates. The commission's work will help guide ADEA in such areas as: identifying barriers to oral health care, providing guiding principles for academic dental institutions, anticipating workforce needs, and improving access through a diverse workforce and the types of oral health providers, including full utilization of allied dental professionals and collaborations with colleagues from medicine.