Dentist Urges Peers to Talk with Tobacco Users

Dentist Joseph Best, a professor at the Marquette University School of Dentistry, joined UW-CTRI Outreach Specialist Suzanne Morris to present on smoking cessation in a dental practice during a UW-CTRI Outreach webinar for dental professionals. “It’s pretty easy to tell if a patient smokes or not,” Best said. “You don’t have to look at their chart. There’s almost no treatment we do that’s not impacted by smoking.”

He challenged dental providers to take responsibility for treating nicotine addiction. “I guess it depends on how you see yourself. Are you just a technician fixing problems in somebody’s mouth? Or are you a participant in the broader spectrum of health care? We’re health-care providers, not just technicians.”

He offered practical tips on how to intervene with tobacco users with or without cancerous lesions. He stressed that having a dentist take the time to talk to the patient about nicotine addiction is critical, and quit-smoking medications also help.

To watch the webinar, click here.