Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the mouth, most commonly focused on dentition as well as the oral mucosa. Dentistry may also encompass other aspects of the craniofacial complex including the temporomandibular joint. The practitioner is called a dentist.
Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer sex or protected sex to indicate that some safe sex practices do not eliminate STI risks. It is also sometimes used colloquially to describe methods aimed at preventing pregnancy that may or may not also lower STI risks.
Necrotizing gingivitis (NG) is a common, non-contagious infection of the gums with sudden onset. The main features are painful, bleeding gums, and ulceration of inter-dental papillae. This disease, along with necrotizing periodontitis (NP) and necrotizing stomatitis, is classified as a necrotizing periodontal disease, one of the three general types of gum disease caused by inflammation of the gums (periodontitis).
A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in providing oral health services. The dental team includes dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental technicians, and sometimes dental therapists.
Oral candidiasis, also known as oral thrush among other names, is candidiasis that occurs in the mouth. That is, oral candidiasis is a mycosis of Candida species on the mucous membranes of the mouth.
Xerostomia, also known as dry mouth, is dryness in the mouth, which may be associated with a change in the composition of saliva, or reduced salivary flow, or have no identifiable cause.
An oral medicine or stomatology doctor/dentist has received additional specialized training and experience in the diagnosis and management of oral mucosal abnormalities including oral cancer, salivary gland disorders, temporomandibular disorders and facial pain, taste and smell disorders; and recognition of the oral manifestations of systemic and infectious diseases. It lies at the interface between medicine and dentistry. An oral medicine doctor is trained to diagnose and manage patients with disorders of the orofacial region.
Weston Andrew Valleau Price was a Canadian dentist known primarily for his theories on the relationship between nutrition, dental health, and physical health. He founded the research institute National Dental Association, which became the research section of the American Dental Association, and was the NDA's chairman from 1914 to 1928.
Focal infection theory is the historical concept that many chronic diseases, including systemic and common ones, are caused by focal infections. In present medical consensus, a focal infection is a localized infection, often asymptomatic, that causes disease elsewhere in the host, but focal infections are fairly infrequent and limited to fairly uncommon diseases. Focal infection theory, rather, so explained virtually all diseases, including arthritis, atherosclerosis, cancer, and mental illnesses.
Oral and maxillofacial pathology refers to the diseases of the mouth, jaws and related structures such as salivary glands, temporomandibular joints, facial muscles and perioral skin. The mouth is an important organ with many different functions. It is also prone to a variety of medical and dental disorders.
In the United States and Canada, there are twelve recognized dental specialties in which some dentists choose to train and practice, in addition to or instead of general dentistry. In the United Kingdom and Australia, there are thirteen.
Michael Stuart Gottlieb is an American physician and immunologist known for his 1981 identification of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) as a new disease, and for his HIV/AIDS research, HIV/AIDS activism, and philanthropic efforts associated with HIV/AIDS treatment.
Human immunodeficiency virus salivary gland disease, is swelling of the salivary glands and/or xerostomia in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus.
John C. Greene was an American dentist and public health administrator. He was a rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and served as the Deputy Surgeon General of the United States under President Carter from 1978 to 1981. He was the Acting Surgeon General from January to May 1981 under Ronald Reagan. He was the highest ranking non-physician public health officer in the history of the U.S. government.
The Challacombe scale is a widely used diagnostic medical tool designed to produce a clinical oral dryness score (CODS) which quantifies the extent of dryness of the mouth, with the aim of making a decision of whether to treat or not, and to monitor its progression or regression.
Stephen Porter is Director of UCL Eastman Dental Institute where he has been Professor of Oral Medicine since 1997. He is a consultant in Oral Medicine at University College Hospital, London and a member of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons. Porter has published more than 450 scholarly works, including the scientific journals The BMJ, The British Dental Journal and The Journal of the American Dental Association.
John S. Greenspan was an academic dentist/scientist and university administrator. His degrees and diplomas include BSc, BDS, Ph.D., FRCPath, FDSRCS (Eng). He was the Director-Emeritus of the AIDS Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He was also the founding Director of the UCSF AIDS Specimen Bank (1982-2017) and of the UCSF Oral AIDS Center (1986–2005).
Niki M. Moutsopoulos is a Greek periodontist and immunologist. She is a senior investigator in the oral immunity and infection section at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Moutsopoulos specializes in oral immunology and periodontitis. Her research program focuses on host-microbial interactions that can drive chronic inflammatory responses and tissue destruction in the oral cavity.
Jennifer Y. Webster-Cyriaque is an American dentist and immunologist specializing in the oral microbiome, salivary gland disease in patients with HIV, and cancer-causing viruses. She became the deputy director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in November 2020. Webster-Cyriaque was a faculty member at UNC Adams School of Dentistry and the UNC School of Medicine for 21 years.
