Targeting tobacco users: Role of dental practitioners - A review Dr. Anitha B.R.*,†, Assistant Professor, Dr. Roshan M. Sagarkar**, Assistant Professor *Dept. of Preventive & Community Dentistry, P.M.N.M. Dental College & Hospital, Bagalkot **Dept. of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopaedics, P.M.N.M. Dental College & Hospital, Bagalkot †Corresponding Address: Dr. Anitha B.R., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Preventive& Community Dentistry, P.M.N.M. Dental College & Hospital, Bagalkot, Pin Code: 587101
Online published on 8 December, 2011. Abstract Aim Dental healthcare professionals are responsible for the oral health and wellness of the people who come for care. Studies have shown that all healthcare providers, including dental office team members, can be effective in helping their patients become tobacco-free. Tobacco use cessation interventions are important added value services that dental professionals can provide in their offices. If tobacco users are approached in a low-key, nonjudgmental manner, they appreciate the help and support and increased referrals are a definite additional benefit to the practice. These interventions can be brief, simple, cost-effective, and do not need to disrupt the practice routine. When we assist our patients with tobacco cessation, we improve their long-term oral health and their treatment success, and at the same time add quality and years to their lives. This paper summarizes this satisfying and rewarding aspect of dentistry. “Today is not yesterday. We ourselves change. How then can our works and thoughts, if they are always to be the fittest, continue always the same? Change indeed is painful, yet ever needful; and if memory has its force and worth, so also has hope. ”-Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Top Keywords Dentist, tobacco cessation, prevention, dental office, nicotine replacement therapy. Top |