WVDHA Fall Session | West Virginia Dental Hygienists' Association

WVDHA Fall Session:

October 14th, 2023
Morgantown, WV
@ WVU Health Sciences Center
Rooms G119A & B

Join WVDHA this fall as we welcome WVU graduate Casey Hein (bio found HERE!) to our CE stage! Casey presents on a multitude of topics, but her course for WVDHA is meant to benefit the entire dental team! We hope to see hygienists, dentists, office managers, and assistants at this exciting and intricate course "Time to Look Beyond the Tonsils: A Call to Action for Oral Healthcare Providers in the War on Diabetes." Review the schedule of events here, and register below! 7 CE credit hours will be offered at this event.

Within walking distance to the venue is the Residence Inn, with discounted room rate available through this link! Information on parking and directions can be found here.
We will see you in October!

Register BELOW and continue scrolling for Course Objectives!

Thank you to our sponsors!

In spite of medical advancements and preventive efforts throughout the world, diabetes continues to be a major health crisis – an escalating crisis with no end currently in sight. This comes at a time when our healthcare delivery system is fragmented, overwhelmed and often broken, and simultaneously the introduction of the new model care called medical-dental integration. Rapidly emerging technologies for point-of-care screening/diagnostics place into the hands of oral healthcare providers new devices to perform medical tests which have traditionally been delivered by physicians and nurses. Add to this the 3 decades of compelling evidence of the interrelationship between diabetes and periodontitis and we quickly realize that the professions of dentistry and dental hygiene must now adopt a holistic model of care. The call to action for us is clear: It’s time to ‘look beyond the tonsils’ and take our place in the war on diabetes.
Addressing diabetes has always been of paramount importance; however, with what we've learned about how diabetes may increase susceptibility to life-threatening viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and rising-risk populations, there has never been a more critical time for oral healthcare providers to join the fight against diabetes. Please join us as we explore how to practice at the top-of-licensure in caring for patients who have or who are at risk for diabetes with actionable steps that can be implemented tomorrow.

Morning Session: The Role of Inflammatory Priming in the Diagnosis and Treatment of the Periodontal Patient with Diabetes

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:

Better educate patients about the interrelationship between diabetes and periodontal disease.
Identify patients who are inflammatory-primed and determine how this may effect systemic health and therapeutic outcomes of periodontal treatment.
Discuss with your team the growth in the expansion of primary care services in the dental setting, and the potential for the ‘Non-Physician Primary Care Provider’ model of care in your practice.
Determine how patients’ HbA1c results should inform the classification of periodontitis, including staging and grading in patients who have diabetes that is untreated.
Implement therapeutic strategies for long term stabilization of the reduced periodontium in patients with poorly-controlled diabetes.
Utilizing various screening tools, identify patients who have asymptomatic or poorly controlled diabetes and refer those at risk to the appropriate healthcare providers.

Afternoon Session: Workshop: What’s in a Finger Stick? Implementing Point-of-Care Glucose Testing

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:

Perform a finger-stick procedure and process blood samples using a professional multi-use, FDA approved, CLIA-waived, hand-held point-of-care glucose analyzing device. *
Identify patients who would benefit from chairside glucose testing.
Interpret the results of glucose testing and apprise the patient and treating physician the results.
Bill insurance companies for glucose testing.
Address challenges to implementing diabetes screening and glucose testing in your practice, and implement first steps to integration of diabetes intervention, motivating your team to participate.
Build collaborative relationships with physicians and nurses who care for mutual patients who have diabetes.

*Participants will be paired with others to perform step-by-step finger stick procedures and process blood samples using glucose professional multi-use glucometers.