1. What is dental informatics?2. Is dental informatics just another name for information technology?3. What is the Dental Informatics Online Community (DIOC)?4. What background do people interested in dental informatics need?5. Do I need to have a computer science degree to get involved in dental informatics?6. What do dental informaticians do?7. How can I learn more about dental informatics?8. What type of problems does dental informatics solve?9. What is the research agenda of dental informatics?10. If am a dentist in private practice is dental informatics relevant to me?11. As a practicing dentist, how do I start integrating information technology into my practice?12. How can dental informatics improve patient care?13. Where can I study dental informatics?14. What are my educational options to study dental informatics if I don't live in the United States?Top of Form

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1. What is dental informatics?

Dental informatics is the application of computer and information science to improve dental practice, research, education and management. During the last forty years it has developed into a research discipline of significant scale and scope. Dental informatics can be considered a specialty of medical informatics.

For more information on dental informatics researchread Dental Informatics: An Emerging Biomedical Informatics Discipline. Schleyer TK, Journal of Dental Education 2003: 67(11); 1193-1200. AccessPDF / HTML / AbstractThis article delineates informatics from information technology and explains the types of scientific questions that dental and other informaticians typically explore.

For more information on dental informatics for practitionersread Dental informatics: A Cornerstone of Dental Practice. Schleyer TK, Spallek H, Journal of the American Dental Association 2001: 132; 605-613. AccessPDF / HTML / AbstractThis article explores dental informatics growth as a discipline, its goals, opportunities and challenges and how practitioners can get involved.

For more information on how dental informatics has developed as a field and its futureread Dental informatics: A Work in Progress. Schleyer TK, Advances in Dental Research2003: 17:9-15. AccessPDF/HTML/AbstractThis article addresses the progress of dental informatics from 1992 to 2002 in regard to dental practice, dental research and dental education. This article includes suggestions of ways the field could develop to realize its potential.

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2. Is dental informatics just another name for information technology?

Dental informatics is a distinctly separate field from information technology.

Dental informatics(DI) is primarily focused on research, development, and evaluation of information models and computing applications. Dental Informatics has lead to numerous applications that improve dental practice, research, education and management.

Information technology(IT) is primarily focused on the implementation and application of computer technology and telecommunications. IT has significantly improved our ability to store, access, manage, filter and apply information.

Despite the large conceptual division between DI and ITlimited areas of overlap exist. For example, a dental informatics team may conceptualize a computerized method to organize patient history archives and then seek the technical expertise of an information technology team to help with software development.

For more information on the development of the field of dental informaticsread Dental informatics: A Work in Progress. Schleyer, TK, Advances in Dental Research 2003:17:9-15. AccessPDF / HTML / AbstractThis article addresses the progress of dental informatics from 1992 to 2002 in regard to dental practice, dental research and dental education. The article includes suggestion of ways the field could develop to realize its potential.

For more information on dental informatics advances for practitionersread The Technologically Well-Equipped Dental Office. Schleyer TK, Spallek H, Bartling WC, Corby P, Journal of the American Dental Association 2003: 134; 30-41. AccessPDF/AbstractThis article discusses the state of the art of several technologies, provides an integrative view of technologically well-equipped office and offers several guidelines for technology purchasing decisions.

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3. What is the Dental Informatics Online Community (DIOC)?

The Dental Informatics Online Community (DIOC) is a National Library of Medicine funded project to create an open, worldwide research community for people interested in dental informatics.

Begun in 2006, the DIOC is an evolving resource that strives to meet the ever changing needs of anyone interested in dental informatics.

The DIOC provides researchers, educators, bioinformaticians, clinicians, students, industry, and the library and information science community with the information and tools they need to advance the discipline of dental informatics.

The DIOC includes literature to enhance research and practice, a supportive community to seek feedback and collaboration, and announcements of meetings and conferences.

Get involved! Sign up to become a member of the DIOC today!You can keep up to date with the latest dental informatics research, educational and collaboration opportunities. The DIOC is here to serve you. Its free! Members are not restricted to a specific discipline, association membership, nationality or qualification, and membership is free.Register here.

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4. What background do people interested in dental informatics need?

The success of dental informatics requires the expertise of a broad range of professionals. People that have contributed to the advancement of dental informatics come from a wide variety of fields including research, education, bioinformatics, computer science, library and information sciences, and dentistry.

Find more information on postgraduate dental informatics programsat theColumbia University College of Dental Medicine Websiteand theUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine Website.

Find more information on short terminternships in dental informaticson the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine Website.

Continuing dental education programs across the United States provide a variety of courses focusing on dental informatics.For continuing dental education courses in your area check with your state's dental association and dental school.

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5. Do I need to have a computer science degree to get involved in dental informatics?

No. Because the discipline of dental informatics requires the expertise of a broad range of professionals no specific degree is required to get involved.

People that have entered the dental informatics field come from a wide variety of backgrounds including research, education, bioinformatics, computer science, library and information sciences, and dentistry.

Find more information on postgraduate dental informatics programsat theColumbia University College of Dental Medicine Websiteand theUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine Website.

Find more information onshort-term internships in dental informaticson the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine Website.

For continuing dental education courses in your area check with your state's dental association and dental school. In addition, continuing dental education programs across the United States provide a variety of courses focusing on dental informatics.

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6. What do dental informaticians do?

Individuals with expertise in dental informatics work for academia, dental schools, the government, industry, insurance companies, professional organizations, and more.Examples of the work of dental informaticians include:

Developing standardized vocabularies to facilitate translation of research to practice

Working with computer software and hardware development companies

Creating a new method of data input to improve the efficiency of chairside computing

Contributing to the efficiency of dental research and practice

Teaching at dental schools

Conducting research at universities

For examples of career development in dental informaticsreview the CVs of these dental informaticians:Titus K. SchleyerandHeiko Spallektop

7. How can I learn more about dental informatics?

You have made a great start!The DIOC and its Learning Center provide a wide variety of resources on dental informatics. If you are looking for something in particular and you can't find it let us know via the contact form at the end of this page.ReadArticles on dental informatics appear frequently in a variety of journals, including, theJournal of the American Dental Association, theJournal of Dental Education,Quintessence International, and theJournal of Computerized Dentistry.

For more general information on medical informaticssearch the following websites:The Journal of American Medical Informatics Association,MD Computing,The Journal of the American Medical Associationand theBritish Medical Journal.

For more articles on dental informaticsvisit the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine'sreprint service.

For continuing dental education coursesin your area check with your state's dental association and dental school. In addition, continuing dental education programs across the United States provide a variety of courses focusing on dental informatics.

Short-term internships in dental informaticsare offered at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.

Postgraduate dental informatics programsare offered at theColumbia University College of Dental Medicineand theUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.

JoinA variety of professional organizations have developed dental informatics programs:

Every year theAmerican Dental Association(ADA) dedicates one day of its annual conference to the latest technologies for dentists. The ADA administers a Standards Committee for Dental Informatics which creates standards for tomorrow's information technology applications.

TheAmerican Dental Education Association(ADEA) hosts an annual session dedicated to informatics.

TheAmerican Medical Informatics Association(AMIA) holds an annual symposium in Washington, DC that includes presentation on dental informatics. In addition, the AMIA coordinates aWorking Groupdedicated to dental informatics.

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8. What type of problems does dental informatics solve?

Because dentistry is an information intensive science most every aspect benefits from the application of computer and information sciences. In dental informatics the methodology of computer and information sciences is used to address persistent problems in dental practice, research, education and management.

The research agenda of dental informatics is continually evolving.Click here for more information on the current research agenda for dental informatics.

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9. What is the research agenda of dental informatics?

The following list includes a few of the research areas being addressed:

Dental Practice Universally accessible electronic patient oral health records and medical history

Effective and efficient user input and output devices more suitable for chairside computing

Validated, integrated decision-support systems

Teledentistry

Dental Research Geographic information systems for dental epidemiology studies

Standardized knowledge representations and controlled vocabularies for diagnosis, treatment, etc.

Computerized data mining tools and analysis

Bioinformatics methods and approaches for genetic and proteomic studies

Dental Education Educational software

Multimedia laboratories that includes virtual reality simulators for preclinical training

Distance education programs

Dental Management Integrated information systems that automate routine tasks and reduce administrative overhead

Administration systems for dental schools to assess quality assurance and streamline accreditation

For more information on the development of the field of dental informaticsread Dental informatics: A Work in Progress. Schleyer, TK, Advances in Dental Research 2003: 17:9-15. AccessPDF / HTML / AbstractThis article addresses the progress of dental informatics from 1992 to 2002 in regard to dental practice, dental research and dental education. This article includes suggestions of ways the field could develop to realize its potential.

For more information about the developing research agenda of dental informaticsread Abbey, Louis M., Zimmerman, John L., eds. Dental Informatics: Integrating Technology Into The Dental Environment. New York: Springer-Verlag, c1992. pp. 250-294

For more information on Dentistry and the National Health Information Infrastructureread Should Dentistry be part of the National Health Information Infrastructure? Schleyer TK, Journal of the American Dental Association 2004: 135; 1687-1695.AccessPDF/HTML/AbstractThis article reviews the goals and structure of the National Health Information Infrastructure and evaluates the implications for dentistry.

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10. If I am a dentist in private practice, is dental informatics relevant to me?

Dental informatics has the potential to transform how dentists care for their patients. Many obstacles faced by practicing dentists can be addressed through dental informatics. A few areas of current research include:

Maximizing workflow support

Supporting clinical decision making and evidence based dentistry

Accommodating trends in clinical data acquisition

Reducing practice management and administration costs

Understanding patient use of the internet for health related information

Relaying the most up to date clinical practices and information to dentists

For more information on advances in dental informatics for practitionersread The Technologically Well-equipped Dental Office. Schleyer TK, Spallek H, Bartling WC, Corby P, Journal of the American Dental Association 2003: 134; 30-41. AccessPDF/AbstractThis article discusses the state of the art of several technologies, provides an integrative view of a technologically well-equipped office and offers several guidelines for technology purchasing decisions.

For more information on advances in dental information from the American Dental Associationread A Resource Guide for Practice Development Through Technology. Spallek, H. Journal of the American Dental Association, 135: 38S-44S AccessPDFThis article is a comprehensive resource guide for general dentists and specialists on technologies, software packages, practice management and other related information. The guide includes lists of recommended articles, books, websites, education program, etc.

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11. As a practicing dentist, how do I start integrating information technology into my practice?

News

If you would like to submit a news story for publication on the DIOC website, please contactHeiko Spallek. Please note that submitted news will be reviewed for relevance.

September 2014Research opportunityA software program that, among other things, mathematically models periodontal disease has been developed and requires more stringent examination than the past year of successful in-house testing. The software developer seeks a periodontal and/or dental informatics graduate student looking for a certificate program research topic. The developer will provide advice, fully-committed mentoring, plus a $5000 research award. Student is expected to work with an academic institution and produce work that is worthy of being published in a peer-reviewed journal. Opportunity is designed to be a win-win for all concerned. Inquiries as to details of the project (see DIOC listing Dental Integra under projects) may be directed to:DrS@thedentalintegra.com.

August 2013Dental Informatics SeminarThe seminar "Development and Evaluation of Oral-Systemic Patient Education Modules" held on July 24, 2013 was organized by the Dental Informatics Research and Training Program at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation. The presentation by Nicolette (Nikki) Klucas is available for viewing at your convenience onMarshfield Clinics Mediasite.

March 2012New Book: Integration of Medical and Dental Care and Patient Data.valerie j h powell rt(r) phd(17

),franklin din(18

),amit acharya(34

)andMiguel Humberto Torres-Urquidy(11

)(Eds.) seek to optimize the delivery of healthcare by stating why isolated components of healthcare delivery need to work together, by asserting how health information technology (HIT) can help these components collaborate to improve care quality and patient safety, by documenting how existing barriers stand in way of interdisciplinary collaborative practice supported by HIT, and by recommending how to remove such barriers.Link to book.

Article on Social Media in Dental Education:Social media are part of the fabric of today's world, from which health care is not excluded. Based on its distribution capacity, a single individual can cause an amount of damage to an institution that only a few decades ago required access to a mainstream news media outlet. A need for regulation with regard to the use of social media seemed to have caught the eye of the medical profession, but did not seem to penetrate the dental community with the same level of attention. Drs. Spallek and Oakley realized that their institutions or professions could potentially be cast in a negative light by social media postings.Read more.

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