Independent Study/Web Course

Dental Management for Older Adults with a Complex Medical History

Course issued: 3/2019; expires 3/2022
This course qualifies the enrollee for 3.5 CE credit hours and the cost is $75.
To register:  https://apps.dentistry.uiowa.edu/ceregistration/ (log-in with CE ID is required)

Course Description

Chronic diseases increase along with aging. More than 70% of older adults aged 60 or above have hypertension, coronary artery disease or other cardiovascular disease. One-third of older adults aged 85 or above suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. These chronic conditions, together with polypharmacy and functional impairment, not only complicate dental management for elderly patients with complex medical history, they also substantially increase the risk to develop systemic complications during treatment. To help dental professionals better manage these high risk patients, specifically those with cardiovascular disease and cognitive impairment, we developed this continuing education program.

Objectives

Participants should be to:

* identify patients with an increased risk to develop cardiovascular complications during or after dental treatment;

* integrate the impacts of cardiovascular disease or cognitive impairment into their management on oral health and oral health care;

* modify treatment modality accordingly to prevent impacts of dental treatment on geriatric patients with cardiovascular disease and those with cognitive impairment; and

* apply risk assessment and clinical management approaches for patients with cardiovascular disease and those with cognitive impairment.

Instructor

Dr. Xi Chen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry. Before coming to the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Dental Ecology, School of Dentistry, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill from 2008-2014. He joined the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry in 2015.

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