Speaker: Omar Abubaker, D.MD| ​The presentation will address the extent of harm of opioid epidemic and addiction in general within the US.

Speaker: Paul A. Rosenberg, D.D.S.| Controversies exist in clinical and pharmacologic aspects of endodontics. For example, a recent study raised doubts about the benefits of incision and drainage for patients with fluctuant swellings of endodontic origin. However, incision and drainage has historically been the standard treatment for that condition.

Speaker: Stephane RJD. Simon, D.D.S, M.Phil, PhD| The accepted management for any pulpal intervention on a highly inflamed dental pulp is the pulpectomy and root canal treatment. However, it has been shown that radicular pulp has a reparative potential and interesting immune defense properties.

Speakers: Ellen Byrne, D.D.S., PhD, Ken Hargreaves, DDS, PhD, and Nikita B. Ruparel, MS, DDS, PhD| This evidence-based course is designed to provide effective and practical strategies for managing acute dental pain emergencies.

Speakers: Alan H. Gluskin, D.D.S. and John M. Gregg, D.D.S. M.S. Ph.D | Dr. Gluskin will discuss the evidence and best practices regarding neurologic injury as a result of endodontic care. Dr. Gregg will discuss orofacial neuroanatomy, the spectrum of trigeminal nerve injuries, differential diagnosis of post-trauma, neuropathic pain sequelae (peripheral and central), and especially surgical, non-surgical and rehabilitative interventions with outcome expectations.

Speaker: Thomas Kvist, D.D.S, Ph.D| Despite the technological developments in our discipline, so far, there is no convincing evidence to suggest that the overall prognosis of root canal treatment has increased over a period of 50 years. The increased understanding of the complexity of the biofilms that are present in necrotic root canals and many root filled teeth has challenged the view that root canal treatment is about getting root canals sterile.

Speaker: Asma A. Khan, B.D.S., Ph.D; Raymond A. Dionne, DDS, MS, PhD| TThis program will summarize the current status of opioid prescribing for acute odontogenic pain, suggest therapeutic strategies to alleviate pain without an opioid, and review guidelines for prescribing opioid combination analgesics for dental outpatients. A draft checklist for prescribing opioids for acute dental pain by ED staff will be presented for review and revision by the attendees for dissemination to the emergency medicine community.​

Marcus D. Johnson, D.D.S.| Estimates suggest that pulpal disease may affect up to 30% of the world’s population. When left unchecked, pulpal disease lends itself to a reduced quality of life by means of increased pain, loss of physiologic function and compromised anatomical form of the affected dentition. Scientific literature consistently highlights the undeniable benefits of antibiotic use in treatment of disease control, more specifically odontogenic bacterial infections.

Sahng Gyoon Kim, D.D.S., M.S. The regeneration of the pulp-dentin complex requires high-level disinfection of the root canal system prior to the application of tissue engineering principles. Indeed, previous work showed that the presence of microorganisms in the root canal system altered the patient’s innate regenerative capacity, resulting in ectopic tissue formation or a failure in regeneration. Current disinfection methods rely heavily on conventional antimicrobial irrigants and intracanal medicaments, including antibiotics and calcium hydroxide. However, there is palpable uncertainty about the efficacy of traditional microbial control for pulp regeneration. New disinfection tools, such as antibacterial nanoparticles and photoactivated disinfection, have been developed and investigated to overcome the limitations of traditional methods. This lecture will provide the current knowledge of antimicrobial treatment for pulp regeneration and its limitations as well as new antimicrobial therapies for enhanced disinfection. Additionally, the potential use of new disinfection methods in clinical regenerative endodontic treatment will be discussed for practitioners.

Speaker: David Jaramillo, D.D.S. Lately, too many in vitro studies on root canal irrigation have been focused on various ways to eliminate biofilms. There have been different biofilm models developed for these types of studies, from mono to multi-species biofilms.