UCSF is once again offering their free online course about Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA) to those interested in dental hygiene and a more modern approach of preventative dentistry. Dr. Featherstone, the Dean of UCSF School of Dentistry, teaches the concepts of CAMBRA which he developed over the past few decades over a 6 week online course through the popular website Coursera.org.
This course will provide the scientific basis for caries (dental decay) risk assessment and practice interventions. You will immediately be able to apply “caries management by risk assessment” into your clinical setting or into your personal health care.
This will be the second time the course is offered and best of all it is FREE for the standard version! There are several optional pay grades such as the verified certificate through Signature Track and/or 12 continuing education credits for the state of California.
I enrolled in the first session of this course back in October 2013 and overall it was very informative and a fun change of pace from your typical college curriculum. Dr. Featherstone does his best to keep you entertained by talking about his adventures around the world between each segment. I opted into the verified certificate and verification page (Signature Track) so that it can be added to my online profiles such as LinkedIn. You can view my verification page here if interested in learning more about this option offers. A verified certificate (optional) currently costs $69 dollars. I am hosting a giveaway for one free Signature Track course. The giveaway details are at the end of this post!
The course will begin on March 31st and run through May 9th. The course requires 4-6 hours per week in order to watch the lectures, read the material, complete the online multiple choice quizzes, and answer the prompts. I think it is a great opportunity for pre-dental students and an excellent achievement to place on your application for dental school. The course covers the following topics:
Week 1:
- Understand what dental caries is
- Understand the concept of the caries balance
- Know the three principal pathological factors of caries formation
- Understand that multiple bacterial species are responsible for dental caries
- Understand the role of frequent ingestion of fermentable carbohydrates in dental caries
- Recognize hyposalivation, how this occurs, and its importance in caries progression
Week 2:
- Refine the concept of the caries balance
- Know and understand the multiple caries protective components in saliva
- Understand demineralization and the role of fluoride
- Understand remineralization and the role of fluoride
Week 3:
- Understand remineralization and the role of fluoride
- Understand how fluoride interacts with cariogenic bacteria
- Know the three main mechanisms of action of fluoride
- Know about fluoride toothpastes and fluoride mouthrinses
Week 4:
- Know about fluoride products for the dental office and for home use by prescription
- Know why high concentration fluoride products are used for high caries risk individuals
- Know the antibacterial products currently available for caries control
- Understand the root caries process including similarities and differences with coronal caries
Week 5:
- Understand the distinction among disease indicators, pathological (biological risk) factors, and protective factors
- Know that the CAMBRA risk assessment method is validated in clinical use in thousands of patients for 6 years through adult
- Know the bacterial assessment methods
- Understand the sequence for the entire CAMBRA method
Week 6:
- Know how to assess caries risk for an individual as low, moderate, high, or extreme
- Know the currently recommended chemical therapy for patients at low, moderate, high, or extreme risk
- To study numerous examples of risk assessment and therapy and how to build this into the treatment plan
- Understand the differences between risk assessment for young children, older children, and adults
Learn more about the course and register at https://www.coursera.org/course/cariesmanagement
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I am raffling off a Signature Track Course ($69 dollar value) to somebody on this website who fills out the Ask Elias form and attaches their confirmation page for the CAMBRA course. From all the entries, a random drawing will decide the winner! The form will only accept the following file types .doc|.docx|.pub|.pdf|.png|.jpg|.jpeg (limited for website security). If you are having difficulty with the attachment, submit the form without the file so I can contact you.
The raffle ends January 31st, 2014 and the winner will be announced shortly after!
