Faculty Bibliography

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the integrity and longevity of restorative and pulpal procedures performed on primary teeth under general anesthesia (GA). Fifty-four children, who received comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia between 1993 and 1995, were included. The postoperative examination period ranged from 6 to 27 months. Children were examined and the quality of the restorations were recorded and evaluated. Behavior problems and inability to cooperate were the main reasons for treatment under GA. Results showed that restoration of posterior teeth with stainless steel crowns (SSC) were more successful (95.5%) when compared to amalgam or composite restorations (50%). In the anterior teeth, strip crowns had a success rate similar to that of Class III, IV and V composite resin materials. Pulpotomies showed an extremely high rate of success (97.1%), while sealants were retained 68.3% of the time. In conclusion, SSC are more likely to be successful and last longer than multisurface amalgam or composite restorations in children treated under general anesthesia. Definitive treatment is more likely to ensure a more positive outcome for children treated under general anesthesia due to less frequent complications from failed restorations or pulpal procedures

Emerging information, technology and therapies make it possible for most children today to grow up with good oral health. The most powerful vehicle we have to achieve this goal is an informed professional and parent. All the tools exist to promote oral health and prevent problems in children if we apply what we know and have learned. The challenge is to increase dissemination of this information, and to remind everyone that good oral health contributes significantly to one's overall general well-being

In 1990, the Bureau of Dental Health Services of the New York City Department of Health launched a major initiative to modernize a network of school-based dental clinics located throughout the city. Since 1913, the bureau has provided dental care to public school children; however, the clinics were not properly maintained or upgraded, and were in a state of disrepair and obsolescence. Anticipating that the survival of the program was in question, the school program was converted to a fleet of state-of-the-art portable dental clinics permitting targeting of underserved, high-risk poor and immigrant populations. Demographics had changed dramatically over the years; the program could now situate services where they were needed most, and provide a broader array of care where access was a problem. This paper presents a six-year analysis of the program and builds a strong case to show that a portable delivery system can equal or in many ways surpass the effectiveness and capabilities of a fixed-state approach

Dental decay continues to plague infants and toddlers, as evidenced by the continued prevalence of nursing caries. The Samuel D. Harris Infant Dental Education Area (IDEA) in the New York University College of Dentistry is the first of its kind in the nation and is especially designed for the promotion of oral health and prevention of diseases of the teeth and mouth of infants and toddlers. Teaching mothers-to-be and new mothers the ABC's of maintaining a healthy oral environment for their babies and themselves is the focus of activities at IDEA