The makers of Listerine^® are committed to providing dental professionals with continuing education opportunities. The following downloadable self-study continuing education courses are presented by The Academy of Dental Therapeutics and Stomatology.

To obtain dental continuing education credits:

1. Download selected continuing education course
2. Review and complete coursework
3. Complete answer sheets in either pen or pencil
4. Mail in answer sheet to address included in the downloadable file

Each course is worth 4 continuing education units. These courses were written for dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants.

Upon completion of this course, the clinician will be able to:

1. Understand the incidence of caries and gingivitis and preventive measures to use against these diseases.
2. Understand the various devices and techniques available for oral hygiene maintenance and their effectiveness.
3. Understand patient compliance issues related to brushing and flossing and the potential impact that lack of compliance has on oral health.
4. Understand the various chemotherapeutic rinses that are effective against plaque and gingivitis, the considerations required in selecting a mouthrinse, and the benefits of mouthrinsing in addition to brushing and flossing.

After reading this article, the clinician will be able to do the following:

1. Understand what influences patient compliance
2. Improve patient assesments to better plan a suitable course of treatment
3. Educate patients in an organized and clean manner
4. Understand the role of nutrition and hygiene protocols and their effect on patient compliance

Upon completion of this course, the clinician will be able to do the following:

1. Comprehend scaling and root planing rationale
2. Understand the barriers to treatment that the clinician may face to achieve case acceptance when treating periodontal disease
3. Understand the role of locally-applied anesthetics when performing scaling and root planing
4. Understand and assess the implications of scaling and root planing and how these procedures impact the clinician's practice, including productivity and cost factors

After reading this course, the clinician will be able to do the following:

1. Explain the difference between "consent" and "informed consent."
2. Explain the importance of informed consent in today's dental records.
3. Understand how to decide which scenarios require informed consent.
4. Explain which members of the dental team are qualified to obtain informed consent.
5. Explain the difference between "informed consent" and "informed refusal" and understand under what circumstances each should be used.
6. Understand under what conditions automated education systems can help in the informed consent process.

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