CE0857: A Medicine Primer for Your Dental Practice - Part 2: Hepatic, Renal, Endocrine and Gastroenterology

Bart Johnson, DDS, MS

Course Description:

The knowledge/abilities of our medical colleagues is expanding exponentially, and our dental patients are presenting with increasingly complex histories. In order to make the best dental decisions with our patients, we need to understand the intimate details of their medical status.

Course Objective:

This course is intended to take the dentist and hygienist from a virtually zero-based knowledge of medicine to a level where they can successfully read charts, understand medication lists, review lab tests and basic diagnostic reports. This knowledge will enable them to work closely with the medical doctors to make quality decisions for their patient’s care.

Topics covered:

• Hepatic
  • Normal anatomy and physiology, including metabolism, synthesis and storage
  • Common maladies including viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, jaundice and autoimmune disease
  • Typical signs and symptoms of liver disease
  • Medical diagnostics including liver function tests and palpation
  • Medical therapeutics including pharmacology, surgery and vaccinations
  • Dental considerations and modifications (Many to think of!)
• Renal
  • Normal anatomy and physiology
  • Common diseases including acute/chronic renal failure, polycystic kidneys and osteomalacia
  • Medical diagnostics including renal function tests
  • Medical therapeutics including pharmacology, dialysis, and surgery/transplant
  • Dental considerations and modifications
• Endocrine
  • Normal anatomy and physiology of the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, adrenals
  • Detailed discussion of common endocrine diseases of these organs, especially diabetes
  • Medical diagnostics specific to each of these organ systems
  • Medical therapeutics including stimulant and replacement medications, insulin pumps, etc.
  • Dental considerations and modifications
• Gastroenterology
  • Normal anatomy and physiology of the GI tract and the enterohepatic circulation
  • Common diseases including Crohns, diverticulitis, colitis, peptic ulcers, GERD, constipation, diarrhea, malabsorption syndrome
  • Medical diagnostics including lab tests and colonoscopy/esophogastroduodenoscopy
  • Medical therapeutics including medications and surgical procedures
• Dental considerations and modifications

Instructor:

BART JOHNSON attended UCLA and received his DDS in 1985, a General Practice Residency Certificate in 1986, and an MS in Oral Biology in 1989. He left sunny southern California for the “liquid sunshine” of Seattle in 1991 and was the Director of the UW General Practice Residency and an Associate Professor with Tenure from 1991 to 2007. In January of 2008, he opened Seattle Special Care Dentistry (SSCD) with his partner, Dr. Amy Winston. SSCD is a private practice dedicated to the care of medically/ physically/ emotionally and mentally compromised patients of all varieties.

Dr. Johnson teaches courses in internal medicine, sedation, medical emergencies, physical diagnosis, hospital dentistry, pharmacology, basic life support and advanced cardiac life support.

Dr. Johnson also conducts molecular biological research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, trying to elucidate the molecular switching effects of Vitamin A and the associated receptor systems. These systems normally control cell growth and maturation, but when damaged, they are implicated in many breast, oral and hematopoietic cancers.

Nationally, Bart is a Fellow of the American Association of Hospital Dentists and a Diplomate of the American Board of Special Care Dentistry.

Bart loves playing with his two kids, backpacking, snowshoeing, kayaking, biking, Harry Potter, and almost anything certifiably geeky.

Need a hotel in the area?