Eastman Dental Center staff member Carletta Carter, of Rochester, has been named the 2007 Dental Assistant of the Year, a national award sponsored by Colgate.
Carter is the dental assisting supervisor for Eastman Dental’s Community Dentistry and Oral Health Disease Prevention, where she divides her time as the practice manager for the Downtown Clinic in the Sibley’s Tower Building on Main Street, and supervising the department’s dental assistants and dental assisting students.
Carter is a certified and licensed dental assistant, allowing her to perform additional clinical and educational services and oral health presentations.
Carter’s commitment to oral health described in the multiple nominations stood out among the other 200 nominations Colgate received. She completed her clinical training at Eastman Dental Center nearly 30 years ago, and has worked in community dentistry ever since. She is active in American Dental Assistants Association and Dental Assisting National Board, and is president of the Rochester Dental Assisting Society.
“Each day, it’s my goal to work toward the mission of education, patient care and community service,” Carter said, who also has a certificate in counseling and teaching. “I want to empower patients to understand the importance of quality dental care and to actively participate in their own care.”
Carter receives a $5,000 cash award, along with an all-expenses-paid visit to Colgate’s research facility and the Dental Assisting Summit conference, where she’ll be presented a trophy. She will also be featured in an article in the April issue of Inside Dental Assisting magazine.
April 15, 2008
Contrary to conventional wisdom, overweight children have fewer cavities and healthier teeth compared to their normal weight peers, according to a study published in this month’s issue of Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology.
Surprised researchers at the Eastman Dental Center, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center, conducted a secondary analysis of nearly 18,000 children who participated in two separate National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES III and NHANES 99-02).
The study found no differences in rates of caries (tooth decay) among children ages 2-5 in all weight ranges, while children ages 6-18 who were considered overweight and at risk for becoming overweight showed a decreased risk of caries compared to their normal weight peers.
“We expected to find more oral disease in overweight children of all ages, given the similar causal factors that are generally associated with obesity and caries, said Eastman Dental Center’s Dorota Kopycka-Kedzierawski, DDS, MPH, the lead author. “Our findings raise more questions than answers. For example, are overweight children eating foods higher in fat rather than cavity-causing sugars? Are their diets similar to normal weight peers but lead more sedentary lifestyles? Research to analyze both diet and lifestyle is needed to better understand the results.”
The study defined overweight children as being at the 95th or higher percentile for their age and sex; children at the 85th or higher percentile and less than 95th percentile for their age and sex were defined as at risk for becoming overweight.
See also:
ScienceDaily April 3, 2008
April 2, 2008
Eastman Dental Center’s SMILEmobile program has been featured on Rochester’s R-News. The article incluces comments from EDC’s Janice Glen and Dr. Desiree Laracuente.
The article, and link to the video, maybe be accessed here.
March 12, 2008
The Eastman Dental Center was recently featured in WHAM News 13’s story Dental Care for Kids—Still a Nightmare for Some.
February 18, 2008
