Make Art Real

The Make Art Real project aims to introduce new audiences to the arts. It supports Theme II of VCU’s Quest for Distinction by promoting and fostering creative expression through innovative collaborations. The project involves displaying existing connections between art and non-art disciplines, as well as making new connections. These unusual pairings are then placed on exhibition through a lunch-time lecture series named “Unexpected_Connections,” which allow faculty, staff, and students to lead and participate in discussions about the reality of art. The lecture series is the first sustainable and reoccurring program to be held in the Depot building, a multidisciplinary facility which is intended to foster interdisciplinary collaborations. The targeted audience includes faculty, staff, students, and members of the greater VCU community

The effective accuracy of dental records in forensic dental identification in Sudan

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent)In Sudan there are currently no programmes targeting dentists to improve their own knowledge about how they can be part of human identification by keeping good dental records. In addition, no guidelines are stated by the health authorities about making, keeping and retention of dental records. The aim of this research was to assess the accuracy of dental records drawn up by the general dentists in Sudan with regard to forensic dental identification and compare these records to an ideal dental record. Dental records of 180 patients obtained from six sites (major dental sectors) were reviewed and compared with an ideal dental record. The data was captured in Excel and statistically analyzed. The results showed that two third of the dentists do not undertake full tooth charting prior to treatment and sometimes this is not shown in their dental records; The dentist name who examined and treated the patient was clearly mentioned in 55.6% of the dental records examined. Dentists in Sudan do not request many radiographs but they depend mainly on intra oral periapical views (PV) and Orthopantomographs (OPG) with a fair to good quality. The medical history was recorded in 44% of the total number of records examined. The quality of dental records in this study was poor in general dental practices but was fair in governmental hospitals. An integrated education programmes to increase the awareness of the dentists in Sudan about accurate record keeping is recommended. Clear guide lines from the health authorities for dental recording system should be developed

Australian oral health case notes: assessment of forensic relevance and adherence to recording guidelines

BACKGROUND: Dental case notes record clinical diagnoses and treatments, as well as providing continuity of patient care. They are also used for dento-legal litigation and forensic purposes. Maintaining accurate and comprehensive dental patient records is a dental worker's ethical and legal obligation. METHODS: Australian-registered specialist Forensic Odontologists were surveyed to determine the relevance of recorded case note items for dental identification. A dental case notes sample was assessed for adherence with Odontologist-nominated forensic value and compiled professional record keeping guidelines of forensic relevance. Frequency of item recording, confidence interval, examiner agreement and statistical significance were determined. RESULTS: Broad agreement existed between Forensic Odontologists as to which recorded dental items have most forensic relevance. Inclusion frequency of these items in sampled case notes varied widely (eg. single area radiographic view present in 75%, CI=65.65-82.50; completed odontogram in 56%, CI=46.23-65.33). Recording of information specified by professional record keeping guidelines also varied, although overall inclusion was higher than for forensically-desired items (eg. patient's full name in 99%, CI=94.01->99.99; named treating practitioner in 23%, CI=15.78-32.31). CONCLUSION: Many sampled dental case notes lacked details identified as being valuable by forensic specialists and as specified by professional record keeping guidelines.Lauren Stow, Helen James and Lindsay Richard

e-Oral Health and Teledentistry in Finland - an Overview

Despite universal health coverage and a strong public health system, the oral health profile of Finland falls behind in an international age-matched prevalence of oral diseases. The oral healthcare system is organised and funded mainly by municipalities. Other stakeholders include the Finnish Student Health Service foundation (FSHS), government and private practices, where the Social Insurance Institution of Finland plays a major role in funding. Rise in the treatment need in recent years due to the increasing dentulous ageing population has challenged the healthcare system. Governmental response to the demand is an ongoing social and healthcare reform and increase of oral health professional education since 2004. However, the current and future treatment need is not met only by conventional prevention strategies and physical service provision. Finland has over the years supported a determined policy of building a digital healthcare architecture. This applies also to all fields of oral healthcare: virtual education, digital diagnostics, digital clinical workflow, national electronic patient records, patient-generated data registers, electronic prescriptions, remote consultation, digital service  management, as well as research and big data mining. These tools could play an important role in improving national oral health and increasing equity. This is an overview of the above-mentioned fields of e-Oral health and teledentistry in Finland based on current scientific literature, national reports, strategies and legislation.     &nbsp

Embracing technology for improving dental records and record keeping in the Republic of South Africa. A review.

Forensic odontology (FO) techniques are used to identify unknown remains and play an integral role in dental-legal cases. The utility of FO relies on accurate antemortem records – the creation and management of which continues to be a global challenge, albeit more acutely presenting in developing countries. Inadequate record keeping and management by the dental fraternity has made application of FO techniques for identifying unknown remains challenging. In addition, dental-legal cases such as in homicides, rapes, patient mismanagement and fraud are sometimes unresolved due to record keeping and health system shortcomings. This current status quo affects families and society: bereaved families are deprived of closure, and protracted litigations ensue, leading to various socioeconomic consequences

Dental workforce 2012

Summary: Access to reliable, comprehensive, timely and nationally consistent trend data is required to understand the current health workforce and for its future planning. There is particular interest in changes to the size and composition of the various health professions, and the potential impacts of these changes on health-care delivery. This report provides data on the Australian dental practitioner workforce in 2012. Size of the dental workforce In 2012, there were 19,462 dental practitioners registered in Australia. Three-quarters of these practitioners (14,687) were dentists. The number of employed dentists increased by 5.3%, from 12,599 in 2011 to 13,266 in 2012. There were 1,330 dentists working as specialists. Orthodontics was the most common specialty (518 dentists). In 2012, there were also 1,425 dental hygienists, 1,117 dental therapists, 1,100 dental prosthetists and 675 oral health therapists employed in their fields. Sex and age of the dental workforce Sex Dentistry is a male dominated profession; however, the proportion of female dentists increased to 36.5% in 2012 from 35.2% in 2011. Employed dental therapists, dental hygienists and oral health therapists, were predominantly women (96.9, 94.6% and 84.7%, respectively). Dental prosthetists were much more likely to be men. Women made up 14.7% of this workforce, an increase from 13.9% in 2011. Age The average age of dentists employed in 2012 was 43.4 (the same as in 2011) and 23.4% were aged 55 and over. Employed dental prosthetists, dental therapists, dental hygienists and oral health therapists were aged 49.1, 46.4, 37.4 and 31.0, on average, respectively. Working arrangements Dentists worked, on average, 37.0 hours per week in 2012, a slight decrease from 2011 (37.3 hours per week). In 2012, 31.7% dentists worked part time (less than 35 hours per week). The majority of employed dentists were working in private practice (79.7% of clinicians and 77.3% of all dentists). Most specialists worked in private practice (75.0%) and in Major cities (89.1%). Major cities had more dentists per capita than other areas in 2012 at 64.3 full-time equivalent (FTE) dentists per 100,000 population, and more than the Australian rate of 56.9 FTE dentists