Dr Elaine Halley has been involved in an exciting project to edit the UK version of a best-selling American textbook. The textbook was devised by Dr Leslie Fang who is a medical doctor from Harvard University.

He realised that dentists need to understand the medical conditions of their patients, but that these and the way that they are treated, and their relevance to dentistry, can change very quickly and can be hard for dentists in general practice to be confident that they understand all the nuances of patients medical care.

For example, warfarin has been prescribed to patients for years as an anti-coagulant, meaning it slows down the clotting time of blood. This is often prescribed for patients who may have heart problems or be at risk from a stroke. It was always important for dentists to know this as procedures such as tooth extraction needed to be handled carefully.

Warfarin is prescribed less often now as there are new classes of drugs called novel anti-coagulants, which have many benefits but are quite different in their mode of action and consequence for planned dentistry.

The book A Bridge Between Medicine and Dentistry aims to help the General Dental Practitioner to stay abreast of these changes and to understand the implications for dental treatment.

Dr Halley worked on the project with Jonathon Bell who is an Orthopaedic Surgeon from London.

‘We had to consult all of the latest UK guidelines. Some of our treatment philosophies are very different in the UK than the US, others are very similar. So we had to check and re-check the literature to be sure that we are giving evidence-based advice. In the busy life of a General Dental Practitioner, it can be hard to do this for every possible medication and condition that a patient has, and the sources of information are widespread and not always easy to cross-check. The book is now selling well across the UK and we’ve even had some orders from New Zealand!’ – Dr Elaine Halley

Feedback has been very positive with many dentists stating that every practice should have one.

To find out more about the book, or to arrange a dental consultation at Cherrybank, call us today on 01738 481 519

If you would like to find out about Digital Smile Design at Cherrybank and how it could work for you, please call 01738 481 519

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