Randy F. Huffines, DDS, FRCSEd

ArkLaTex Academy of Dentistry

 Friday, January 27, 2017

Prevention for the High Risk Caries Patient (morning)

We all have observed that some of our patients have a much greater caries risk than others. Our understanding of the caries risk factors is much more sophisticated now and we know that our simple instructions to just “brush and floss” are not adequate for many patients. This is especially true for older patients who now have more caries than teenagers. In fact, caries - not periodontal disease - is now the primary cause of tooth loss in older adults. Using examples from patients in his own practice, Dr. Huffines will guide you through preventive protocols that are based on assessing risk of the individual patient. Evaluate the American Dental Association’s new Caries Risk Assessment and compare it to CAMBRA. An unbiased, evidence-based evaluation of prescription and OTC chemotherapeutic agents without the media hype will furnish you with the latest information to guide your product selection. Learn the latest ADA recommendations for in-office fluoride treatments. Myths and controversies about antimicrobial protocols, ACP, CCP-ACP, CCP-ACFP, sodium fluoride and difluorosilane varnishes, and xylitol products will be explored in detail.

Restoring the High Risk Caries Patient (afternoon)

Restoring the patient with rampant caries can be frustrating to both the dental team and the patient. Worse still is having a newly restored patient quickly return with failed restorations. Learn how to incorporate new insights about caries initiation and progression into protocols and techniques that increase your restorative success. Learn the value of discriminating between caries-infected and caries-affected dentin. Evaluate the evidence and learn the techniques for the controversial new step-wise and “incomplete” caries removal protocols designed to retain pulp vitality. Should the new ceramic caries removal burs and caries dyes be incorporated into your clinical practice? The influence of different restorative materials on secondary caries may surprise you. Clinical pearls on the clinical application of bioactive restorative and luting materials will be clearly presented by means of video clips. 

Course objectives

1. Determine the biologic and environmental factors that put patients at high risk for caries.
2. Quickly identify the patients at high risk for caries in your practice.
3. Learn the new ADA in-office and at-home fluoride treatment recommendations.
4. Understand the differences between the various calcium phosphate products now available.
5. Evaluate current anti-caries chemotherapeutics.
6. Formulate patient-specific preventive protocols.
7. Discriminate between caries-infected and caries-affected dentin.
8. Select step-wise and incomplete caries removal options for various clinical situations.
9. Properly select restorative materials based on patient-specific criteria.
10. Learn techniques for effectively and efficiently restoring root caries.