Some patients who need general medical care before a dental intervention can suffer increased risk for poor outcomes if they have compromised access to care.
AMA J Ethics. 2022; 24(1):E6-12. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.6.
Alexa Curt and Margaret Samuels-Kalow, MD, MPhil, MSHP
Division between medical and dental care exacerbates health inequity and forces many with compromised access to seek oral health care in emergency departments.
AMA J Ethics. 2022; 24(1):E13-18. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.13.
Jesse Feierabend-Peters, MD, PhD and Hugh Silk, MD, MPH
Despite availability of good national oral health curricula for medical trainees, most physicians are ill-equipped to identify oral cancers or avoid unnecessary referrals.
AMA J Ethics. 2022; 24(1):E19-26. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.19.
Eleanor Fleming, PhD, DDS, MPH, Julie Frantsve-Hawley, PhD, and Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, MBA
Continued separation of dental and oral health from general medical care generates unnecessary prescriptions and pain management that are neither restorative nor responsive to patients’ primary complaints.
AMA J Ethics. 2022; 24(1):E48-56. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.48.
Training, service delivery, and financing are done separately in dentistry and general health care, which has influenced reimbursement structures, access to services, and outcomes.
AMA J Ethics. 2022; 24(1):E57-63. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.57.