Change in our world is happening quickly. For dentistry, this is no exception, and now is the time to foster new opportunities. Advances in the foundational science of dental, oral, and craniofacial health are expanding and enabling personalized care built on strong discoveries in the fields of microbiology, immunology, and neuroscience. Digital communication through electronic health records, patient portals, and teledentistry is emerging as vital new armamentarium for contemporary dental practice. Wearables linked with smartphone apps are trending to monitor pain levels, postoperative symptoms, wound healing, and home oral health habits. Oral fluid diagnostics are rapidly surfacing for use in diagnostics, drug testing, and hormone detection. Manipulation of the oral microbiome is under investigation for caries management and for potential impact on systemic conditions. Resolving mediators of inflammation are promising for addressing the chronic inflammation that plagues periodontal patients. New imaging modalities paired with digital approaches and 3-dimensional printing are formulating disruptions in the technical aspects of dentistry. Augmented reality and virtual reality are providing great potential as teaching tools for dental students and bear promise for lifelong learning for providers. Optimization of information technology and the incorporation of data science partnered with artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve patient care in a learning health care system approach will benefit large numbers of patients. These are exciting times for our profession, yet we need to navigate these paths carefully. Technology needs to significantly and positively change the experience of those involved (patients, dentists, staff, payors). New technologies need to be backed with solid research and implementation science. Automation should focus on improving care with attention to expanding care to the underserved and not lose the critical human connection that our patients need. There is great potential in the emerging innovations yet also great responsibility to ensure they are evidence based on rigorous science and deployable with equity and sensitivity. Knowledge Transfer Statement: This article discusses innovations in technology and treatments that have enormous potential to revolutionize our dental care, including novel concepts in electronic health records, communication between dentists and patients, biologics around diagnosis and treatment, digital dentistry, and, finally, the real-time optimization of information technology. The early implementation and validation of these innovations can drive down their costs and provide better dental and medical services to all members of our society.
Decades of research have shown that organizational climate has the potential to form the basis of workplace operations and impact an organization's performance. Culture is related to climate but is not the same. "Culture" is the broader term, defining how things are done in an organization, while "climate" is a component of culture that describes how people perceive their environment. Climate can be changed but requires substantial effort over time by management and the workforce. Interest has recently grown in culture and climate in dental education due to the humanistic culture accreditation standard. The aim of this study was to use corporate climate principles to examine how organizational culture and, subsequently, workplace operations can be improved through specific strategic efforts in a U.S. dental school. The school's parent institution initiated a climate survey that the dental school used with qualitative culture data to drive strategic planning and change in the school. Administration of the same survey to faculty and staff members three times over a six-year period showed significant changes to the school's climate occurred as a new strategic plan was implemented that focused on reforming areas of weakness. Concentrated efforts in key areas in the strategic plan resulted in measurable improvements in climate perception. The study discovered that culture was an area previously overlooked but explicitly linked to the success of the organization.
Our world is at a turning point with biological and social pathogens wreaking havoc at the same time that science and technology are exploding with new discoveries. It is a pivotal time for the new report Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges to be released and a pivotal time for our profession to take action and lead. The art, science, and practice of dentistry is very different from 20 y ago when the original Surgeon General’s report was released. We are on the precipice of individualized health care where providers will collaborate to deliver diagnostics and therapeutics that are data driven and inclusive of the social determinants of health. To move forward with alacrity requires a strong scientific foundation, effective educational approaches, an understanding of the upstream determinants of health, and partnerships across the health professions and beyond. Oral health has never been more important, and now is the time for our profession to further develop, elevate, and translate the science into practice and policy to improve the nation’s health.
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.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.