CHICAGO--The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) and the AGD Foundation are pleased to announce a continuing dental education-based strategic sponsorship with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare.
This year-long sponsorship will focus on developing and producing high-quality educational opportunities and materials on the subjects of dry mouth and acid tooth wear for general dentists.
As part of this collaborative effort, GSK Consumer Healthcare will host an educational symposium, titled "Unraveling the Mysteries of Saliva: Its Importance in Maintaining Oral Health" to be held during AGD2006Denver, the AGD's Annual Meeting & Exposition, which will be open and free of charge to registered meeting attendees.
Information presented at this symposium will then be shared with all AGD members via a related article in the AGD's monthly newsmagazine, AGDImpact. Funding for these programs will be provided in part by a grant from the AGD Foundation made possible by GSK Consumer Healthcare.
"As a leader in continuing dental education and an advocate of lifelong learning, we are pleased to work with the AGD to bring these quality continuing education initiatives to their member dentists," says Ronald Rupp, DMD, GSK senior manager, professional relations.
"Working with the AGD to increase awareness and knowledge of these clinical conditions ensures that information important to general dentists will be shared with a larger dental audience."
"This collaborative initiative is based on the mutual desire of both organizations to provide continuing education programs and materials aimed at increasing the awareness, understanding, and knowledge of the complexities surrounding saliva and its importance in maintaining and improving oral health for the patients we serve," says AGD Foundation President Julie A. Barna, DMD, MAGD.
Xerostomia, or dry mouth, may be caused by a variety of medications, systemic conditions and diseases and impaired functioning of the salivary glands.
Saliva not only begins the process of breaking down food for digestion, but it also provides teeth with a protective coat of protein. The result of this lack of saliva is decay along with various other dental problems.
The quality of life of patients suffering from dry mouth is often profoundly affected. Symptoms include difficulty in speaking, eating and swallowing, an altered sense of taste infections of the tissues of the mouth, ulceration or soreness of the mouth, difficulty in wearing dentures and extensive dental decay.
"We are excited to collaborate with industry leaders, such as GSK Consumer Healthcare, who share our vision to create program content that will advance the value and excellence of general dentistry as well as benefit dental professionals and their patients," says AGD Executive Director Jay Donohue, Jr., CAE, CMP.
"We look forward to working with GSK to broaden our members' access to new continuing education experiences."
