The asymptomatic progression of osteoporosis, in conjunction with the possibility of catastrophic disability, makes this disorder a major public health priority. Various body sites, including the mandible, have shown susceptibility to decreasing bone density. In 1986, Benson et al. proposed a radiomorphometric technique called the Panoramic Mandibular Index (PMI) as an inexpensive noninvasive dental technique for osteoporosis screening, although no osteoporotic subjects were included in their study. The purpose of our study was to determine whether osteoporotic postmenopausal women would show a decrease in mandibular cortical bone height, as measured by the PMI index, when compared with nonosteoporotic postmenopausal women. Seventy-two Caucasian females (33 cases/39 controls), aged 54-71 years old, were selected through records and screening via a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan (LUNAR-DEXA). ANOVA analysis indicated no differences in the mean PMI between case and control groups (0.37 +/- 0.15 and 0.38 +/- 0.13, respectively; p = 0.69). Other techniques, such as computer digitized radiography should be explored to test the validity of the PMI.
A questionnaire was sent to all 60 U.S. dental school deans to obtain their opinions concerning future faculty training requirements and job opportunities. Two rounds of mailings produced a 95 percent response rate. The deans expressed a greater need for faculty in clinical fields than in the basic sciences but they strongly indicated that the majority of future clinical faculty would have to possess the training and skill necessary to conduct independent research. Additionally, the deans indicated a preference for faculty jointly trained in two disciplines, wither two clinical fields or a clinical and basic science field. An analysis of current data on the number of dentists in formal research training programs was compared with the deans' estimation of projected faculty openings. This analysis led to the conclusion that there is a significant undersupply of dentists trained jointly in two disciplines who are capable of independent research. In the absence of corrective action, an opportunity to strengthen dental faculties and dental research will be lost.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.