Overview

This one-day course aims to update you on the current guidelines and protocols for treating patients with medical conditions in general dental practice.

More and more patients are presenting for treatment with complicating factors in their medical history. We'll discuss the impact of medical history on dental treatment and any action needed as a result.

We'll look at the common medical problems that all clinical staff are faced with, and revise the protocols and best practice requirements for these groups.

Course content

The course will cover the following areas:

• Importance: I am not a doctor, why do I need to know?
• Prevalence of medical problems: how likely is it that I'll see a patient with a medical problem?
• Risk assessment: to treat, wait or refer?
• Pain and anxiety control: what can I do to reduce risk?
• Patient access and positioning: before I book an appointment what do I need to consider?
• Treatment modification: adapt or stop?

We'll also look at the following problems and their solutions:

• Medical conditions which make a patient more likely to bleed - what do you need to do to reduce the risk?
• Anti-thromobotic drugs and their impact on dental treatment - including the novel agents
• INR: to do or not to do? 
• Be confident treating a patient after myocardial infarction
• Antibiotics for cardiac patients: if the patient asks for them, what should I do?
• Hip replacement: if the orthopaedic surgeon says the patient needs this, what should I do?
• Patients having cancer therapy: what should I do, how can I help?
• Dementia and it's impact on the mouth - what can I do to help?

Please note: there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss other scenarios in a group learning environment, so the above is by no means exhaustive.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, you should have:

• developed an enhanced understanding of the risk assessment process when planning dental treatment for a patient
• an increased awareness of the impact of medical conditions on the delivery of care

Who this course is for

You'll need to be a qualified dental hygienist or dental therapist.

Teaching

The course will be delivered through lectures and a Q&A session.

CPD points and certificates

You'll earn 6.5 hours of verifiable CPD and will receive a certificate of attendance on completion.

Cost

The price for this course is £120.

Quality controls

All Eastman teachers are experienced professionals. You'll be asked to submit written feedback via a questionnaire at the end of the course, which is used to monitor the course's quality of teaching and value for money.

Refunds

Please read the Eastman's refunds policy before booking.

Course team

Hana Cho

Hana qualified from University of Bristol in 2012. Following foundation training in general dental practice, she completed three years of dental core training in oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral medicine and sedation. In 2016, she was appointed an Academic Clinical Fellow in Special Care Dentistry at the Eastman Dental Hospital. She's taught dental and medical professionals on a variety of topics, and delivered core CPD courses for interprofessional learning and the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) of England. Alongside her clinical training, she's completed a Diploma in Special Care Dentistry RCS England and Master's in Clinical Research.

Course information last modified: 30 Nov 2022, 16:00