b'PERIO PEOPLEWhatsupDoc?A new initiative for introducingstudents in the Department of Oral Surgery at NYU. There, interdisciplinary dentistry with his oral surgery colleagues, he instructs students on The AAP spoke with Dr. Robert Horowitz,the physical aspects of atraumatic extraction as well as Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor ofpatient education and the biological processes of wound Oral Surgery, Periodontology and Implanthealing and socket management. It has become increasingly Dentistry at the New York University Collegeapparent to him and his colleagues that students are not of Dentistry, about an initiative he is advocatingalways as aware as they could be of current, advanced that is designed to educate both future and currentperiodontal therapies that can save and enhance teeth. In general dentists about the benefits of comprehensive,many schools, most of the teaching of third and fourth year interdisciplinary care dentistry. students is done in modules supervised primarily by general dentists, he said. However, periodontics is only minimally Reject the implant impulsepresent in these modules, and the types of periodontal Consumers today are being bombarded by a lot oftherapy offered are generally underrepresented. television commercials urging them to replace their loose,This is unfortunate, said Dr. Horowitz, because ideal funky, missing teeth with screw-in dentures, observed Dr.treatment requires a full mouth approach. If a problem-Horowitz. I dont mean to demean implants, but I have tofocused diagnosis is made only at a tooth level, larger suspect that this idea could be emotionally devastating to aissues may be missed.In private practice, comprehensive lot of people. Whats more, Im pretty sure that not everyonediagnosis and care are ideally delivered by a team of dentists who has these problems with their mouth is physically,that includes specialists. Predoctoral dental training should financially or emotionally ready foror in need ofthat kindexpose students to this type of interdisciplinary approach.of treatment. Making comprehensive treatment comprehensibleFortunately, according to Dr. Horowitz, there is good newsOne of our concerns is that dental students really dont for these people. Periodontists have access to knowledge,understand what a periodontist does beyond scaling, root biomaterials and techniques, as well as to general dentistsplaning, and looking for calculus, said Dr. Horowitz. They and other specialists with whom we can put togetherhave no idea what periodontists can do to help them come comprehensive, interdisciplinary, coordinated treatmentup with and participate in comprehensive treatment plans, plans, he said. And this in many cases enables us towhether those plans are executed by the general dentist prolong or maintain the full dentition, the terminal dentition,alone, or in cooperation with one or more specialists. or at least part of the dentition without putting patientsThis can lead to more aesthetic, healthier and easier-to-through the trauma or costs associated with implants. maintain outcomes for the patient, and to better financial Dr. Horowitz taught for 25 years in postgraduateremuneration for the general dentist. Unfortunately, Periodontology and Implant Dentistry at New York University. many general dentists assume that patients referred to He has spent the past 15 years teaching predoctoralperiodontists will never come back. In my experience, AAP Periospectives| 40'