Office computer systems for the dental office

The role of computers in dental practice has dramatically changed over the past 30 years. We have witnessed the progression from administrative roles to complete integration leading to chartless offices. As the dental community gradually adopts this contemporary development, the move to electronic health records is imminent because of upcoming changes in the health care system. The past, present, and future of dental office computer systems is explored in this article. An understanding of the benefits and current challenges of contemporary dental practice software is also reviewed. © 2011 Elsevier Inc

Technological advances in nontraditional orthodontics

New technological advances have helped the orthodontic profession progress in traditional and surgical methods of treatment. The profession has seen transitions from traditional braces to self-ligating brackets, lingual braces, removable aligners, and more advanced technology, which have helped to address concerns that include but are not limited to better diagnostics, anchorage control, length of treatment, and esthetics. An increase in the number of adult patients seeking orthodontic treatment and the need for a timely efficient care will continue to drive technology and the use of cone beam computed tomography, miniscrews, piezocision, distraction osteogenesis, and bioengineering. © 2011 Elsevier Inc

Rheumatoid Arthritis is Associated With Less Optimal Hip Structural Geometry

The overall goal of this study was to assess the longitudinal changes in bone strength in women reporting rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n=78) compared to non-arthritic control participants (n=4,779) of the Women's Health Initiative Bone Mineral Density sub-cohort. Hip structural analysis program was applied to archived dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scans (baseline, years 3, 6, and 9) to estimate bone mineral density (BMD) and hip structural geometry parameters in three femoral regions: narrow neck, intertrochanteric and shaft. The association between RA and hip structural geometry was tested using linear regression and random coefficient models (RCM). Compared to the non-arthritic control the RA group had a lower BMD (p=0.061) and significantly lower outer diameter (p=0.017), cross-sectional area (p=0.004), and section modulus (p=0.035) at the narrow neck region in the longitudinal models. No significant associations were seen at the intertrochanteric or shaft regions, and the association was not modified by age, ethnicity, glucocorticoid use, or time. Within the WHI-BMD, women with RA group had reduced BMD and structural geometry at baseline, and this reduction was seen at a fixed rate throughout the nine years of study

24hrs ON EARTH: ‘Learning to learn about racial, social and environmental (in)justice’

For UAL’s Research Season 2022 Earth and Equity: integrating environmental and racial justice The Experimental Pedagogies Research Group (EPRG) invited participants to an open-access 24 hour long continuous live session. Every sixty minutes of the 24 hours was co-curated by two or more members of the EPRG and its global affiliates, spanning continents, time zones and approaches to learning. We challenged existing assumptions about ways of addressing pedagogic concerns, and the multiple ways in which we as world citizens might explore questions of learning (on/from/with/about/around) earth – learning to learn about racial, social and environmental (in)justice, and how we know that we have learned. The EPRG is interested in creating new pedagogies and ways of working, drawing on collective practices, in the spirit of being non-hierarchical, inherently diverse and excited about experimentation