In a recent webinar titled "Smiles in Sickle Cell Care: Preventive Dental Hygiene Strategies for Enhanced Health," Linda Chandler-Jacobs, RDH, shared her extensive knowledge on the intersection of sickle cell disease and dental care. This session condensed a nine-hour course into a focused 45-minute presentation, aiming to educate dental professionals on how sickle cell disease impacts dental health and what considerations should be taken for affected patients. Here’s a brief overview and key highlights from this enlightening webinar.
Webinar Overview
Linda Chandler Jacobs, a seasoned registered dental hygienist with over 50 years in the field, brought her deep passion for sickle cell research to the forefront, exploring how this complex genetic blood disorder can affect various aspects of dental care. Her personal connection to the disease, as someone with a family history of sickle cell trait, enriched the session with both scientific insight and personal anecdotes. Linda highlighted the importance of understanding sickle cell for better treatment outcomes in dental practices.
Key Highlights
- Patient Awareness and Health History: Linda stressed the significance of having a comprehensive health history questionnaire in both medical and dental offices that explicitly includes sickle cell disease. She highlighted, "The questionnaire never asked about sickle cell disease. As a standalone, it usually will ask about a blood disorder, however, the way the questionnaire is worded, it alludes a sickle cell patient from answering yes to the blood disorder question because society has sickle cell as a disease and it is actually a blood disorder." This emphasis on awareness can radically change how dental professionals approach their treatment plans. “Your chief concern as a dental professional when you have a new patient or even an existing patient of African descent, of Spanish descent, Mexican descent, or even Asian descent should be, does this patient have sickle cell disease or even possess the sickle cell trait? Because believe it or not, most of the time they don't even know.”
- Dental Implications and Observations: Explaining the dental manifestations, Linda stated, "If you have someone that presents with a panorex like this, you should really take heed to go a step further to start asking a lot of questions." She discussed how dental x-rays might show signs associated with sickle cell disease, which could offer critical clues for dentists to possibly diagnose or further investigate a patient's sickle cell status, particularly in individuals with unexplainable dental issues.
- Communication with Healthcare Providers: Linda highlighted the necessity of collaboration between dental professionals and hematologists. She noted, "It's constant conversation between the dental office and the hematologist," underlining that tailored care plans, especially those involving surgery or complex dental treatments, depend on thorough, interdisciplinary communication to support patient health and prevent complications.
This session by Linda Chandler-Jacobs, RDH is a must-watch for dental professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of sickle cell disease's impact on oral health. To explore these topics further and gain additional insights, you can watch the full webinar by visiting VOCOLearning.com. This learning opportunity not only aims to improve patient outcomes but also empowers you with the knowledge to advance your practice confidently.