Page 11 - NYSAGD GP Fall 2018

5. Martori, Elisenda, et al. “Risk factors for denture-re- 2018 AGD Hill Day
lated oral mucosal lesions in a geriatric population.”
Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry 111.4 (2014): 273- Nathan Hershkowitz, DDS, MPH, MAGD
279.
6. Budtz‐Jørgensen, Elvind. “Oral mucosal lesions as- This year’s AGD Hill Day event took place in Washington,
th
th
sociated with the wearing of removable dentures.” DC on Monday, June 18 and Tuesday, June 19 . Mon-
Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine 10.2 (1981): day’s session was held at the Capitol Hill Hyatt Regency
65-80. Washington, which began at 2:00 pm. Tuesday’s program
7. Thomson, W. Murray, R. Harvey Brown, and Sheila began at 7:00 am, with 36 attendees gathering for break-
M. Williams. “Dentures, prosthetic treatment needs, fast and brief remarks, before moving on to visits with our
and mucosal health in an institutionalised elderly individual members of Congress.
population.” NZ Dent J 88.392 (1992): 51-5.
8. de Arruda Paes-Junior, Tarcisio José, et al. “CO laser
2 Many issues were discussed in our preparations, but our legislative “asks”
surgery and prosthetic management for the treatment were limited to two issues. The first request was funding for “Oral Health
of epulis fissuratum.” ISRN dentistry 2011 (2010). Literacy.” Launched by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
9. Assadat Hashemi Pour, Maryam, M. Rad, and A. in 2010, the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) initiative set new 10-year goals
Mojtahedi. “A survey of soft tissue tumor-like le-
sions of oral cavity: A clinicopathological study.” and objectives for health promotion and disease prevention. Overall, the latest
Iranian Journal of Pathology 3.2 (2008): 81-87. data generally shows progress toward achieving HP2020 targets, but the indi-
10. Sawasaki, Iris, et al. “Effect of low-intensity laser cator tracking “the number of persons who visited a dentist in the past year,”
therapy on mast cell degranulation in human oral shows that progress is getting worse in meeting this objective. The HP2020
mucosa.” Lasers in medical science 24.1 (2009): baseline for this objective is 44.5% (2007), with a target of 49%. According
113-116. to HHS’ most recent data, in 2015 the percentage had dropped to 43.4%. This
11. Mohan, Ravi Prakash Sasankoti, et al. “Epulis fis- means fewer individuals are visiting the dentist than did in 2007.
suratum: consequence of ill-fitting prosthesis.” BMJ
case reports 2013 (2013): bcr2013200054. It is clear that oral health and oral health literacy are not receiving the atten-
12. Webb, B. C., et al. “Candida‐associated denture sto- tion they deserve and that more needs to be done to make the public aware
ma titis. Aetiology and management: A review. Part of the importance of GOING TO THE DENTIST and maintaining good oral
2. Oral diseases caused by candida species.” Austra- health. Therefore, the AGD urged legislators to sponsor legislation that di-
lian dental journal 43.3 (1998): 160-166. rects the Secretary of HHS, acting through the Director of the CDC, which is
13. Sharon, Victoria, and Nasim Fazel. “Oral candidiasis formally titled as the Centers for Disease Control AND PREVENTION, to
and angular cheilitis.” Dermatologic therapy 23.3 establish a 5-year public education campaign focusing on the prevention of
(2010): 230-242.
14. Akpan, A., and R. Morgan. “Oral candidiasis.” Post- oral diseases such as early childhood and other caries, periodontal disease,
graduate medical journal 78.922 (2002): 455-459. and oral cancer. I had the opportunity to inform Rep. Mark Meadows (R-SC)
15. Farah, C. S., N. Lynch, and M. J. McCullough. “Oral that it is much cheaper to attack and arrest the disease processes which cause
fungal infections: an update for the general practi- dental decay in children before they could cause obesity and diabetes later in
tioner.” Australian dental journal 55.s1 (2010): 48- life. He responded, ”Well said.”
54.
16. Farah, Camile S., Robert B. Ashman, and Stephen J. Our second “ask” was for Health Resources and Services Administration
Challacombe. “Oral candidosis.” Clinics in derma- (HRSA) funding. HRSA is an important agency for ensuring oral health in
tology 18.5 (2000): 553-562. the United States. The Chief Dental Officer (CDO) works to ensure HR-
SA’s oral health programs operate with maximum impact and efficiency.
The current CDO is New York’s very own Captain Renee Joskow, DDS,
MPH (Columbia). During our Tuesday morning briefing from Rep. Mike
Simpson, DDS,(R-Idaho), we were informed that his Appropriations
Dr. Gwen Cohen Brown is a full-time Subcommittee had already done its part on a bipartisan basis in appropriat-
Professor in the Dental Hygiene De- ing $12 million for general dentistry residency programs, up from the cur-
partment at New York City College of rent $10 million. Among other issues we petitioned for was to continue full
Technology. Dr. Brown received her funding for the Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program with continued
Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount equal preference given to general dentistry and pediatric dentistry faculty.
Holyoke College in 1984 and Dental
degree from New York University Col- New York’s own Senator Charles Schumer’s aide for health care issues, Mr.
lege of Dentistry in 1988. Dr. Brown is a licensed den- Matthew Fuentes, continued our discussions which began at our 2017 Hill
tist in New York State and a Fellow in the Academy of Day meeting. He even extended our brief scheduled time to more than 30
minutes! He noted that the senator supports ALL of the AGD’s recommen-
Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. dations and would reach out to the Academy when a “push” is needed in the
Dr. Brown is the Dental Expert for WebMD and faculty legislative process.
at the NY/NJ AETC. She is a member of the Dental
Standards of Care Committee charged with writing As I wrote in my 2016 report, “Every legislator is already an AGD mem-
current HIV Clinical Guidelines Program for the NYS- ber’s acquaintance, friend/friend of a friend, neighbor or patient! And even
DOH/AIDS Institute. Dr. Brown authored the current if the one who represents you is not someone who already has your attention
Monograph on Oral Lesions in HIV Seropositive Pa- as a ‘captive audience’ in your dental chair, you may find that s/he is very
tients for the AIDS Institute and NYSDOH/NYSDOC. approachable and even eager to help on issues of concern to our profession.”
Dr. Brown has lectured extensively on the topic of HIV/ So the take away message is: Legislators ARE people who are looking to be
AIDS, Common Oral Lesions, Infection Control, and cultivated. Since you never know when you really may need assistance, it is
Oral Cancer since 1992. wise to make a relationship before then.
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