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Biomedical subjects

R P Suddick

Publications and source records attributed to R P Suddick.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

The dental clinical workstation and the computer-based patient record.

Computer-based clinical workstations and software systems for patients records offer emerging technologies important to the practice of dentistry. Many considerations enter into the design of the workstation: a screen graphics software design that will permit fast, accurate and comprehensive data input while being easy to learn and use; space-saving computer hardware, including the monitor, and an integrated physical design for the complete clinical workstation that takes into account infection control and ergonomics. Other computer-based technologies, such as intra-oral imaging systems and digitized radiographs, along with accounting, billing, insurance claims and scheduling software systems should be integrated with the workstation software for clinical data acquisition. This will require adoption of uniform standards for the data dictionaries and for communication with outside databases, hospitals, laboratories and service bureaus, which suggests that the clinical workstation may become the integrating centerpiece for a variety of clinical computer-based technologies that are emerging in the health professions.

Dental Records↗
PubMed1990

Historical perspectives of oral biology: a series.

From antiquity, individuals, tribes, and cultures have sought the abilities of singular individuals to try to heal them or to help them to endure the onslaughts of disease. For thousands of years before recorded history, these services were provided by the medicine man or shaman of the tribe, whose secret treatments were passed from generation to generation by the apprenticeship methods of teaching. For the most part, their therapies were at best palliative and their effects were placebo and psychological in nature. Reliable written records of healing practices began with the ancient Greek civilization about 400 years before Christ. The written recording of rational therapies and practices established the "physician" as one of the premier occupations (or "professions") of ancient Greek society. About 160 years after Christ, the Greek physician Galen began the practice of examining the post-mortem anatomy of various animals and extrapolating his findings in an attempt to understand the structure of the human body. This was the first well-recorded and documented effort in what we, today, would term "biomedical research". While Galen's efforts and written production were massive, his impact on medical practices beyond Greece was minimal due, at least partially, to the lack of mass printing and distribution methods. Ironically, at almost the same time that Galen's complete works were published, Andreas Vesalius of Brussels published the most startling and exquisite book in the history of medicine. Vesalius' De Humani Corporporis Fabrica (1543)2 was a lavish and beautiful exposition of human anatomy. This event, for all intents and purposes, formalized the separation of the science of medicine from its art. We suggest that this event established the division of medicine into two historical streams--the "healers" and the "scientists" (or Streams "H" and "S"). However, even to the present, the biomedical scientists remain dependent on the established institutions of the healers for their very existence and continuity. Very early the dental healers developed as a distinctly separate branch of the H Stream, due to the efficacy and directness of the therapy of tooth extraction and the need for mechanical aptitude for its execution. This was exemplified in the long and successful history of the barber-surgeons, or their earlier equivalents, as therapists in every society on Earth, including the U.S., up to nearly the turn of the 20th century.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Asia, Western↗
PubMed1985

The long-term effectiveness of periodontal therapy in a clinical practice.

A retrospective study was conducted of 620 patients in a periodontal practice over the years 1960 to 1982. Various periodontal therapies were assessed by using careful office protocols, meticulous record-keeping and well-defined outcome criteria. Four treatment outcome categories were used: two representing satisfactory outcomes (referred to as "STABLE"), and two unsatisfactory outcomes ("UNSTABLE"). The percentages of patients in the STABLE categories following different therapies were: (1) nonsurgical treatment, 63.6%; (2) closed curettage, 73.1%; (3) open curettage, 95.0%; (4) modified Widman flap, 91.6%; (5) full flap and osseous surgery, 71.1%. The major conclusions were that the modified Widman flap and open curettage were more effective than flap and osseous surgery, and much more effective than closed curettage when it was employed as an alternative treatment (54.8% STABLE) to the osseous surgery (71.1% STABLE). Thus, moderate surgical therapies appear to be at least as effective as ostectomy procedures in the treatment of periodontal disease, while nonsurgical and closed curettage therapies appear to be less effective.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Attitudes of school personnel and parents toward a school-based fluoride mouthrinse program.

A study was conducted to assess the attitudes of school personnel and parents toward a school-based fluoride mouthrinse (FMR) program. The responses were obtained by administering a questionnaire to school personnel and parents of an urban school system. The responses of the school personnel indicate that they support the FMR program as it is currently structured; they perceive that the program does not interfere with the education of the students and they have willingly participated in the program. The school personnel do not oppose governmental participation in such a program, but they believe that parents should be responsible for their children's oral health. Parents are supportive of the FMR program as a means of preventing dental problems and improving children's oral health. The parents do not object to governmental involvement and funding of the program. They do not perceive the cost of operating the program as excessive in relation to the expected benefits.

Attitude↗
PubMed1984

Commitment to oral biology: prescription for a new age in dental education.

Oral biology is a legitimate biomedical discipline of fundamental importance to dental education, but its incorporation into undergraduate dental education is proceeding too slowly, especially considering the changing conditions of dental practice. Widespread adoption of oral biology into dental curricula will enhance the biological orientation of dental students, and graduate education in oral biology can play a significant role in training dental researchers and academicians. Advances in the field of oral biology and the potential broadening of its role have been overlooked or downplayed by some dental educators, making it something of an issue in the U.S. dental community. Resolving this issue will depend on several relatively independent events: (1) some relief from, or an adaptation to, the present situational pressures on dental education; (2) a well-informed pro-oral biology position from dental education's national leaders; (3) improved efforts by oral biologists to communicate the importance of their field; and (4) an understanding of this issue by the dental community with an organized effort to bring oral biology into the mainstream of dental education as it changes to meet new needs.

Biology↗
PubMed1983

Mirror-tracing and Embedded Figures tests as predictors of dental students' performance.

Recent studies of the Embedded Figures and Mirror-Tracing Tests as predictors of first-, second-, and third-year dental students' grades were extended to the fourth year, and the comparative utility of the experimental predictors were examined in groups of recent dental graduates categorized by their predental science GPAs and DAT scores. The experimental predictors proved to very strong in graduates whose grades were below average at admission and were the best overall predictors for students who entered dental school with a predental science GPA below 3.0 or a combined DAT score below 4.0. Neither the DATs nor the predental science GPAs contributed consistently as predictors in these below average students. However, the predental science GPA was the best single overall predictor for all graduates (when not categorized as described). the experimental predictors contributed significantly to the predictive utility of the predental science GPA.

Aptitude Tests↗
PubMed1982

Field dependence-independence and dental students' clinical performance.

The construct of field dependence-independence (FDI) is a bipolar characterization of cognitive style and functioning that has achieved wide interest outside the field of dental education. Since dental educators lack effective preadmission predictors of clinical grades or performance, the authors examined two tests of FDI as potential new predictors. The Embedded Figures Test (EFT) is a recognized FDI descriptor test based on the ability to identify rapidly and accurately a series of simple geometric figures "embedded" in more complex figures; such performance is characteristic of the field-independent individual. Similarly, rapid and accurate performance on the Inverted Tracing Test (ITT) (mirror tracing of simple figures) may also be characteristic of the field-independent individual. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the EFT and ITT parameters correlated more closely with clinical grades that did Dental Admission Test (DAT) predictors. The results suggest that individuals who tend to be field-independent, rather than field-dependent may hav an advantage in the dental school's clinical curriculum.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1981

Correlations of scores on embedded figures and mirror tracing with preclinical technique grades and PMAT scores of dental students.

For 20 dental students the relationships of field dependency, scores on the dental admissions test, grades in technique courses, and time and error scores on mirror-tracing tests were studied. Significant correlations (-.48, -.58, -.65) were found between field-dependency scores and scores on the perceptual-motor abilities subtest of the Dental Admissions Test and between mirror-tracing test and pre-clinical operative grades (-.53). These preliminary results indicate that study of the perceptual-cognitive styles of dental studies is warranted to evaluate the potential utility of these measures in counseling and admissions. The mirror-tracing tests appear to have potential advantages as objective measures of psychomotor skills and learning ability.

Achievement↗
PubMed1980

Attitudes of health professionals involved in a school-based fluoride mouthrinse program.

A study was carried out to assess the attitudes of public health officials and dentists toward a school-based fluoride mouthrinse program administered in grades one through six in Kentucky. The responses were obtained by administering a questionnaire to health officials and dentists. The responses of the health directors indicate support for the program as a means of improving the overall dental care of children. These individuals do not feel a need for direct involvement in the daily operation of the program. They believe that adequately trained school personnel can implement the program. Dentists also view the fluoride mouthrinse program as an effective means of improving children's dental health. However, they feel that it should be part of a broad scope program which includes public health measures. Dentists are reluctant to support a program which they view as increasing the role of government in providing health care.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1980

NIDR funding related to the presence of oral biology departments and source of basic science instruction.

The amount of research funds awarded to American dental schools by the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) in 1976 and 1977 was analyzed according to the schools' oral biology and basic science deparmental status. Four categories of schools were identified based on the presence or absence of oral biology programs (the ORB and NOB schools, respectively) and on medical school (-M) or dental school (-D) source of basic science instruction. This breakdown yielded 20 ORB-M schools, 7 ORB-D schools, 12 NOB-M schools, and 15 NOB-D schools. The ORB schools generated more than twice as much mean National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) research funding per school as did the NOB schools. The rank order of funding in the four subgroups was ORB-M, NOB-D, ORB-D, and NOB-M. The rank order of NIDR research funding among these four subgroups was quite similar to the previously reported rank order of student National Board performance in the same subgroups.

Biology↗
PubMed1976

The current status and impact of oral biology in dental education.

Twenty-four oral biology departments were surveyed with respect to number of faculty, graduate programs, and role in the dental schools (ORB schools). The mean full-time and part-time faculty per department is eight and 2.6, respectively. There are nine graduate programs, but only one has actually granted Ph.D.'s in oral biology. Students of these ORB schools were compared with students of 32 dental schools which did not have oral biology departments (NOB schools) in performance on the dental National Board Examinations. With respect to mean scores, students from the ORB schools performed better on both part 1 and part 2 examinations from 1969 to 1974. There has also been an impressive difference in the failure rates, students in the ORB schools experiencing a lower failure rate. Further analysis demonstrated that oral biology departments have developed largely in dental schools which have relied upon medical school basic science departments for teaching the basic sciences.

Biology↗