Wisconsin Dental Association: Wisconsin dentists on front lines in fighting tobacco dependence

CONTACT: Carol S. Weber, APR, Director of Public Relations

PHONE: 414-755-4108 (direct)

E-MAIL: cweber@wda.org

Celebrate Great American Smokeout on Nov. 18 with a dental appointment!

WEST ALLIS, WIS., Nov. 16, 2010 – Wisconsin dentists are on the front lines when it comes to helping people stop smoking and chewing tobacco.

The persistence of the Wisconsin Dental Association and its 2,900 members was acknowledged in December 2009 when the state’s Dentistry Examining Board confirmed tobacco cessation counseling and prescriptions are within the scope of practice for dentists.

Of the more than 26,000 new cases of cancer in Wisconsin in 2006, approximately 800 or three percent were oral and pharyngeal cancers. The survival rate for these cancer patients is only 59 percent; unfortunately, survival rates for oral and pharyngeal cancers have not improved very much over the past 25 years.

In Wisconsin and nationally, blacks are more likely than whites to develop oral cancer and much more likely to die from this disease according to the Burden of Oral Disease in Wisconsin – 2010 report recently released by the state’s Department of Health Services.

Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are major risk factors for oral cancer. Other forms of tobacco use, including spit tobacco and cigars, also increase the risk of this disease.

The WDA, Delta Dental of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention recently co-sponsored a “Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence in the Dental Office – A Practical Approach to Help Your Patients Quit” seminar series. Dentists attending this continuing education course learned how to talk with patients about tobacco dependency and cessation using the “Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist and Arrange” method, received current information on medications for aiding cessation and were introduced to a variety of patient education and support resources.

“Dentists are trained medical professionals who specialize in diagnosing and treating diseases of the teeth, gums, tongue, salivary glands, muscles of the head, neck and jaws and the nervous system of the head and neck,” explains WDA President Dr. Eugene Shoemaker, a general dentist in Waukesha, Wis. “We want to help tobacco users understand the oral cancer risks, conduct thorough exams and provide them with the tools and guidance needed to quit successfully.”

Celebrate the 35th Great American Smokeout on Nov. 18 by seeing your doctor of oral health!

Established in 1870, the Wisconsin Dental Association represents more than 83 percent of all licensed, practicing dentists in the state. For more information, call 414-276-4520, visit our WDA.org website or find us on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube.