A Patient-Oriented Smoking Cessation Program Conducted in a Dental School Clinical Setting

Abstract

This patient-oriented smoking cessation program is a viable, positive, and constructive addition to the overall, preventive IUSD program. Because dental schools will be required to teach chemical dependency topics (including smoking cessation) in the future, it is appropriate and timely to launch this project now. During the past year, we have observed numerous patients, students, faculty members, and staff employees who have quit smoking, either directly or indirectly, as a result of these organized efforts. As the roles of all dental health professionals continue to expand, leaders in dental education face additional challenges. The IUSD is presently meeting this challenge by training dentists and auxiliaries to provide patients with comprehensive, lifesaving smoking cessation information and therapy. Members of the IUSD dental faculty are also engaged in other health promotion and disease prevention efforts. In the future, many health-oriented activities will become an important and integral part of the daily dental practice. Thus, dental health educators must train dental students and auxiliaries to successfully blend these adjunctive services into routine dental care.