Faculty-Student Interactions in Other Disciplines to Increase

Ann Arbor, MI — October 11, 2010 — The "borders" that have separated the practice of dentistry and the practice of medicine are likely to continue to intersect. That, in turn, will have a significant impact on how dentistry is taught and the way dentistry is practiced in the future, according to Dr. Ira Lamster, dean of Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine.

Speaking at the U-M School of Dentistry’s annual convocation, Lamster outlined how dental education and the practice of dentistry will continue to evolve. At Columbia, for example, he said, dental students and faculty regularly interact with colleagues in other disciplines including public health, nursing, and medicine.

Since these interactions are likely to continue, not just at Columbia, but also at other colleges and universities, including Michigan, Lamster said dental educators and dental professionals “need to ask where and how we fit in when it comes to the health care of our patients.” However, he was emphatic about one point. "I am not advocating dentists become physicians," he said.

Oral Health Affects Systemic Health

With interaction among dentists, physicians, and other health care providers increasing in the future, new approaches to training and educating oral health care professionals will be needed. An increased emphasis on basic science will also be crucial.

Talking about changes to the dental curriculum at Columbia, Lamster said new dental students there study basic science their first 18 months. Later, they begin case-based education and afterwards take “bridge courses” that enable them to apply basic science principles in evaluating and treating patients in the school’s clinics. "The goal of this approach,” Lamster said, “is improved total health, not just improved oral health."

Elaborating on what he characterized as "the blurring of borders separating dentistry and medicine," Lamster noted a shortage of dentists in some parts of the country has led to some physicians being trained to provide emergency dental services, such as extractions,in hospital emergency rooms. View Convocation 2010 Video On the other hand, because of their unique training and perspectives, Lamster said dentists can educate other health care professionals and patients about the importance of oral health to systemic health in areas that include smoking cessation, hypertension assessment, diabetes screening, obesity management, identifying osteoporosis from dental radiographs, and identifying suspicious dental lesions. "We need to continue looking for these types of potential problems among our patients and, when necessary, refer them to professionals in other areas," Lamster said.