Join Associate Professor Geraldine Moses and Professor Ian Meyers for a deep dive into pharmacology and restorative developments at this full day event held at RACV Hobart and experience the support the Dental Advice Network can provide ADA Tasmania members.

Update on Drugs for Osteoporosis – who, what, why, when and how to stop them

Osteoporosis affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over the age of 50. So it’s no wonder that dental professionals are increasingly faced with assessing, diagnosing, and treating oral health issues in patients with osteoporosis. It can be difficult for dentists to understand the osteoporosis management when there are so many medicines available now, with different modes of action, varying degrees of efficacy and some that carry no risk of ONJ at all. So how do doctors choose between them? How do they differ in safety and efficacy? How long do they work for? When and how can these drugs be safely ceased? Is it true denosumab (‘Prolia’) can never be stopped?  In this talk, Geraldine will provide an overview of the brand new RACGP guidelines on the management of osteoporosis, the role of the FRAX score, ALL the drugs used to treat bone density disorders, comparing their efficacy and risk profiles, explaining their place in therapy. In addition, the latest evidence on the role of drug holidays, when and how some antiresorptive medicines can indeed be stopped. 

Learning Objectives

• Be familiar with current RACGP guidelines for osteoporosis and the role of the FRAX score.
• Recognise the many different medicines used to manage osteopenia and osteoporosis.
• Explain the comparative efficacy and safety of the different medicines and their place in therapy.
• Specify the appropriate duration of treatment for each medication type, that optimises their risks and benefits.
• Identify when osteoporosis can or can’t be stopped, especially with respect to dental procedures.

Antibiotic Prescribing in the 21^st Century – are you up to date? 

Unless you’ve read the latest edition of Therapeutic Guidelines -Oral and Dental with a fine-tooth comb, you may not have noticed the many changes to recommendations for both antimicrobial prophylaxis and treatment. Most of these changes are welcome but a few are perplexing especially if you treat periodontal disease. So what should you do? In addition, the guidelines expect that dentists know how to assess claims of antibiotic allergy and for which allergic patients clindamycin should NOT be prescribed. Do you know who they are and what to prescribe instead?  In recent years, changes to antimicrobial doses and duration of treatment have become commonplace but not everyone is prescribing this way. In addition, it is now well accepted that we should stop saying that patients “should always finish the course” of antibiotics. Do you? In this talk, Geraldine will cover all these topics and more, to ensure that we are using and prescribing antibiotics in the most up to date and appropriate way. 

Learning Objectives

• Describe the concept of antimicrobial stewardship and how it applies to dental practice. 
• Implement the new recommendations for antibiotic treatment and prophylaxis in Therapeutic Guidelines Oral and Dental v4 
• Understand that clindamycin is being phased out for patients claiming penicillin allergy, and what to prescribe instead. 
• Know how to determine which patients likely have a legitimate or fake antibiotic allergy claim.
• Confirm new guidelines on antimicrobial dosing and duration and the need to “finish the course.” 

A Range of Restorative Regimes to Enhance Clinical Practice 

This presentation will look at how developments in restorative materials and techniques have enhanced the ability of the clinician to provide an extended range of restorative options for patients. The advances in dental adhesives, composite resins, ceramics, glass ionomer, and glass hybrid restorative materials will all be discussed, and how these newer materials provide opportunities for optimised and personalised restorative management strategies for patients. A number of clinical cases will be presented to demonstrate the outcomes with both direct and indirect restorative techniques. The incorporation of digital technologies and workflows will also be reviewed to show how these can assist with planning and management of complex restorative cases and help simplify and improve predictability of outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognise what’s new in adhesive restorative materials
• Identify the differences and understanding the various materials including Injectable Composite Resins, Glass Ionomer, and Glass Hybrid Restoratives
• Appreciate the expectations, and the limitations of contemporary restorative materials and techniques
• Understand personalised restorative management, what it means and what it can achieve
• Understand analogue and digital workflows, what to use and when
• Learn tips and tricks to optimise clinical outcomes