METLIFE adds five more choices to its ADA approved dental continuing education program

NEW YORK . – MetLife, the largest commercial dental carrier, which administers dental benefits for over 21 million people, announced today the addition of five quality resource guides to its ADA approved dental continuing education program. MetLife, which is also approved by the Academy of General Dentistry, has updated educational material focusing on: 1) Drug Interactions: A Guide for Dentistry (second edition), 2) Informed Consent (third edition), 3) Intraoral Bitewing Radiographic Technique (third edition), 4) Radiographic Quality Assurance for Film Imaging Systems (third edition), and 5) Making Pediatric Dentistry Part of General Practice (second edition). These self-study offerings are available online at www.metdental.com and can be completed on or offline for continuing education credits.

“Staying current on clinical and professional dentistry developments is important for practitioners in ensuring the use of best practices for patients health,” said Alan Vogel, DMD, national dental director for MetLife. “We are delighted to provide continuing education opportunities that offer a valuable means for professionals in the field to have easy access to.”

The newest additions to MetLife’s Dental Continuing Education Program include:

Drug Interactions: A Guide for Dentistry, the second edition, is written by Sebastian G. Ciancio, DDS. Dr. Ciancio is the director of the Center for Dental Studies at the School of Dental Medicine at the State University of New York and serves as clinical professor of pharmacology and distinguished professor and chair, department of periodontics and endodontics. The availability of new drugs and newly discovered adverse drug interactions can be a daily occurrence. This guide uses selected mechanisms of drug metabolism as the basis for describing the most common problems of metabolism. The guide proceeds to describe adverse interactions, including their clinical signs and symptoms for the drugs most frequently used in dental practice, including local anesthetics, vasoconstrictors, acetaminophen, antibiotics, sedatives and narcotic analgesics. A valuable feature of this guide is several tables that summarize the text and provide the practitioner with easy access to the information.

Informed Consent, the third edition, written by Ronald E. Geistfeld, DDS, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota, School of Dentistry and Susan Baker, MHA, director of the quality initiatives program for MetLife, focuses on how efforts can be taken to comprehensively advise the patient about various aspects of proposed treatment, gain their consent, and document that consent has been given. This guide will aid the practitioner in appreciating that informed consent is a process, not simply a signed document. How and to what extent should consent be documented? Is it the same for all courses of treatment? To what extent and under what circumstances can the dentist delegate obtaining informed consent? These are just some of the questions the guide addresses. There are many forms available for documenting informed consent. This guide will assist the dentist in evaluating their content. The guide alerts dentists to be aware of the considerable variation that exists among states.

Intraoral Bitewing Radiographic Technique and Radiographic Quality Assurance for Film Imaging Systems, both in their third edition, are written by Sally M. Mauriello, RDH, BS, EdD, associate professor, department of dental ecology at the University of North Carolina and Dan Shugars, DDS, PhD, MPH, professor of operative dentistry at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry.

The Intraoral Bitewing Radiographic Technique guide has been enhanced. Think about how much dentists depend on the basic bitewing for diagnosis and how much information this simple film, if properly exposed, can reveal. Without careful attention to detail, the bitewing’s potential will not be achieved. This guide is designed to help individuals seeking to improve their radiographic skills, new employees who will assume responsibility for radiographic studies, as well as staff who would take over when the person with primary responsibility for radiographs is not available. The guide is concise, practical and has been well received by practices across the country.

The fourth guide was developed because despite the increasing popularity of digital imaging systems, the reality is that the majority of films taken in the dental practice are conventional radiographic exposures followed by film processing. Radiographic Quality Assurance for Film Imaging Systems describes requirements of both manual and automatic processing. In both the narrative and an user-friendly referenced table the steps that will result in high quality films are described and guidance is provided regarding frequency. In addition, various quality control tests for x-ray equipment are included in a table that can easily be included in a check list.

Making Pediatric Dentistry Part of General Practice, now in its second edition, is written by Norman Tinanoff, DDS, professor and chair, department of health promotion and policy at the University of Maryland Dental School. The key to effectively meeting a child’s needs and the expectations of their parents is based on early recognition, whether it is a behavioral problem, an elevated risk for caries, or a pending developmental problem. This guide covers these subjects and more. Included are tips on the use of local anesthesia, fluoride supplementation guidance and the pros and cons of sealants. Of special interest to the practitioner is a section on pulp therapy for primary teeth. The information in this guide should prove to be of value not only to the dentist, but to the entire staff as they work to create an atmosphere in which the delivery of dental care is a positive experience for the child and parents.

The MetLife Dental Advisory Council provides expert guidance for the company’s Quality Initiatives Program and works diligently to provide for the needs of participating dentists and hygienists in the MetLife Preferred Dentist Program (PDP). As an added benefit for participating in the program, MetLife educational offerings and credits are available at no charge. Non-PDP dentists and hygienists can also access the offerings free of charge, but will be assessed a nominal fee for educational credits. For additional information about MetLife’s dental continuing education program, visit www.metdental.com.