Did you know that The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine is one of the few medical schools that incorporates oral health into its instruction?
Thanks in large part to a $1 million endowment made possible by a gift from the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation and a vision of Dr. Charles (Bud) Conklin- Director Emeritus of Carilion Clinic Hospital Dentistry- a comprehensive oral health curriculum is a major component of the education received by students at the VTC School of Medicine.
Dr. Conklin, (2015 winner of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Manuel M. Album Award for the individual that has made the greatest contribution to the oral health of children with special needs) started one of the first community-based hospital dental programs in the country in 1980 at Carilion in Roanoke, VA.
Working daily with his fellow colleague physicians in Heme-Onc and Cardiology, it was only natural for him to start thinking about the need for more oral health education in medical school curriculum. When Virginia Tech Carilion was slated to accept their first class, he and other forward thinkers were already planning and making an oral health curriculum happen. This curriculum encompasses all four years of the students’ education. They are exposed to real cases and also receive didactic instruction.
I am proud to say I am now part of this education process with our much beloved leader here at Carilion/VTCSOM- Dr. Conklin. We will be teaching the M1 students on April 8 as this will be their start to the oral health curriculum. We will be joined by our GPR residents, our attending Prosthodontist, Dr. Natalie Powell as well as Hospital Dentistry Attending, Dr. Brandon White.
We will even get a glimpse of our own Pediatric Anesthesiologist (and my good friend) Dr. Emily Knipper and her little girl as the students learn what the primary dention normally looks like. We are very excited about teaching our future colleagues about what we do in Dentistry and know it will pave a future for easier and more meaningful collaborations.
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The downside of being numb – a kid’s view…
Posted on February 22, 2016 by kyokoleannyoda
Local anesthesia was one of the best advances in Dentistry. It allows one to have their teeth worked on without pain. For those of us that have been numb before, we realize it’s just one of those normal things we go through when we get a filling done. We are aware that our lips aren’t REALLY that big and we take care to NOT bite our cheek.
For young children, however, getting numb for the first time – and even subsequent times can be weird and an issue for them. If they have never experienced that “fat lip” feeling before, it may be upsetting. Sometimes kids will chew their cheek, lip, and even scratch at their face where it feels numb to them (see picture above).
The outcome is a swollen lip, cheek, etc. that eventually looks akin to hamburger meat. We usually get a call from the parent the next day after they have been to the ED and someone there has told them that their child is having “an allergic reaction to the dental work/shot” -unnecessarily scaring the parents.
Hence my reason for writing this info today. My team gives every child that has received local anesthesia a cotton roll (tooth pillow) to bite down on before leaving. It serves as a reminder for the child to NOT bite the cheek.
We always want a parent/guardian with the child so we can go over post operative instructions about being numb and give anticipatory guidance about what to look for/what can happen if the child chews. Some children are just going to chew so we really want the parents to watch those children closely.
If we do get a call from a parent where the child has chewed akin to the above picture- I usually want to to see the child and then give appropriate instructions on how best to keep the area clean so it can heal and what can be done for palliative treatment.
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Dental visits with our Special Needs children
Posted on January 31, 2016 by kyokoleannyoda
I was recently giving a lecture to our residents about treating Children with special healthcare needs (SHCN). As a pediatric dentist, this is my biggest joy in my job. I can’t really think of it as a job when I see these families. They give me so much and I’m honored to be able to serve them in any way I can.
As a dentist treating a child with SHCN, we must Be willing to try common procedures in an uncommon
fashion. Treatment plan according to the patient’s needs and coordinate treatment with other providers if possible. Think multidisciplinary and be an educator to the family and their other physician care givers. Establishing a dental home is extremely important for these families and providing an atmosphere of inclusion and increased awareness for ALL patients and parents of the practice is needed.
Each patient with SHCN has a unique personality, specific needs, and special gifts. Parents may have anxiety about how their children will react to dental treatment and we, as dentists, should recognize this and be reassuring. Oral health can be an area where the child with SHCN can be like all other children- and this can be a relief to the parents.
🤓
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Even Pediatric Dentists get cavities…
Posted on January 22, 2016 by kyokoleannyoda
Carilion Children’s GPR Resident Dr. Chelsea Randall works on my silver filling and she is awesemo!
Sometimes you can’t understand what someone is going through until you walk a mile in their shoes. When it comes to dental work, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. In my opinion, every dentist should go through having a filling done- the injection of local anesthesia… having a rubber dam in your mouth… and then, of course, the vibration and unattractive sound of the drill. It’s not really fun but sometimes has to be done.
As a child, I experienced many visits to our family dentist. This was during the 70s before disposable gloves were a must–YUCK! 😜. I was the one kid of four that needed the dental work. I remember our family dentist having to give me shots, work in my mouth – the whole nine yards – as a little kid.
I think these experiences shaped what I later chose to do as my profession because I understand what a child experiences having dental work done. It’s a different experience than when you are a child as compared to an adult! Your mouth is smaller… things taste yucky… you are placed in a very vulnerable position lying down … and it can be scary and unnerving 😳🤔😖.
With that being said, as a pediatric dentist, it’s my job to try and change the way a child experiences what I experienced all those years ago. Things were different then. My dentist was a very nice family dentist but he wasn’t a specialist. There was no explaining things or putting things on my level as a 6 year old experiencing dental work for the first time. That’s ok.
I can do it for kids now! If I can make things easier for a child then I have done my job. Kids are kids and we need to be flexible and meet them, their families, their social situations- the whole picture-where they are. In the end, dental work is still dental work no matter how much you try and flower it- but we can make it a little easier for children.
So, in the end, all of us pediatric dentists, assistants, hygienists, and crew will continue to fight the good fight of strep mutans and dental caries (cavities)… but in a more child-friendly way…. one tooth at a time…. 😆😘
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Did you know that Carilion Children’s has a Craniofacial Team? 😍
Posted on January 17, 2016 by kyokoleannyoda
Our multidisciplinary team provides diagnosis and long-term management for children with craniofacial abnormalities. Our team combines the expertise of many specialties to provide all aspects of care to children with craniofacial conditions.
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Why we see young children in the AM
Posted on January 17, 2016 by kyokoleannyoda
Preschool children should be seen in the morning because they are fresher and we can work more slowly with the child for their comfort. School children with a lot of work to be done should be seen in the morning for the same reason. By afternoon, most children are tired or it’s nap time- not a great time for a dental appointment.
We want the child to have a positive experience. Dental appointments are an excused absence. Missing school can be kept to a minimum when regular dental care is continued.
Front Range Dental Care 