Journal of dental hygiene : JDH
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The purpose of this article is to present a case study of a patient with chin numbness and to review its relationship, through research, to possible underlying diseases and conditions. Mental nerve neuropathy, better known as numb chin syndrome, is a rare condition. ⋯ Since this syndrome has been associated with serious conditions such as diabetes, multiple scleroses and metastatic disease, patients who present with signs and report unexplained symptoms of numbness should be examined thoroughly. Dental professionals who encounter patients with this symptom should refer them for further medical evaluation can potentially save lives.
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Using John Kingdon's agenda-setting model, this paper explores how Minnesota came to legislate a mid-level dental practitioner to its oral health workforce. Using a pluralist framework embracing the existence of various interests and convictions, this analysis highlights the roles of issue formation, agenda setting and politics in policymaking. ⋯ The Minnesota mid-level dental practitioner initiative demonstrates the important convergence and alignment of the access to oral health care problem and the subsequent collaboration between political interest groups and policymakers. Through partnerships and pluralist compromise, mid-level dental practitioner champions were able to open the policy window to move this legislation to law, enhancing the oral health workforce in Minnesota.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges related to formal clinical remediation in dental hygiene programs, which include timing of student identification, policy development, and the issues of methodology and scheduling. ⋯ These findings indicate that respondents are well aware of the need for remediation policies in dental hygiene programs. The point in time varies when students in need of remediation are identified. Therefore, further research needs to be conducted to determine the reasons for this difference. Some reasons may include inability to grasp the foundational skills and/or the complexity of advanced instrumentation in the second year. Also, it is suggested that investigation regarding methods used to address the challenge of faculty and student scheduling for remediation sessions would be useful.
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Comparative Study
Chronic HPA axis response to stress in temporomandibular disorder.
Perceived stress is associated with temporomandibular disorder (TMD), but whether cortisol levels are elevated in individuals with TMD is unknown. We hypothesized that cortisol concentration, a biomarker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function, was elevated in TMD cases relative to controls, and that perceived stress was positively correlated with cortisol concentration. ⋯ Despite greater perceived stress, TMD cases had lower hair cortisol concentrations than controls and the 2 measures of stress were weakly and negatively correlated.