15.00 - 15.05 Introduction
C.A. Ramseier

15.05 - 15.30 Tobacco use Cessation and General Health
P. Tonnisen

15.30 - 15.55 Impact of Tobacco use and Cessation on the Oral Mucosa
M. Bornstein

15.55 - 16.20 Impact of Tobacco use and Cessation on the Periodontium
R. Palmer

16.20 - 16.45 Treating Tobacco use and Dependence in the Dental Practice
C.A. Ramseier

16.45 - 17.00 Discussion

Numerous scientific studies over the past few years exploring the influence of tobacco use on oral health have well recognized the detrimental effect of tobacco products on the oral mucosa and the periodontal tissues. Additionally, a growing body of periodontal literature is providing sufficient evidence that next to plaque control, smoking cessation is the most important measure for the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease. These issues have given dental clinicians, oral health educators and researchers in the field a number of whole new tasks to tackle.

At the 1st European Workshop on Tobacco use Prevention and Cessation for Oral Health Professionals in the fall of 2005, a number of these issues were addressed and subsequently five position papers were published in the Journal of Oral Health and Preventive Dentistry (1/2006). These publications included the potential impact of dental tobacco use cessation on public health, the evaluation of tobacco use cessation in the dental practice, the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing dental education as well as the assessment of behavioural change support abilities of the dental team. Furthermore, a Workshop Consensus Report and a Care Pathway were added, suggesting a direction for tobacco use cessation based on the best available evidence, while acknowledging the practical constraints of the dental practice.

Almost one year after this workshop, our Symposium highlights the latest available evidence for tobacco use cessation on general health, the impact of tobacco use and cessation on the oral mucosa and the Periodontium, as well as the treatment of tobacco use and dependence in the Dental Practice.

Given that tobacco use prevention and cessation is currently projected to become a commonly accepted part of oral health care, all the aspects mentioned above will need extensive research. Various strategies for prevention of tobacco use and methods for motivating quit attempts in patients are currently being studied. Behaviour change support combined with either nicotine replacement therapy or bupropion are shown to be the most effective interventions for tobacco use cessation in dental settings. Additionally, the appropriate use of basic communication skills (i.e. motivational interviewing), appears to be beneficial for behaviour change support. In our Symposium, further approaches to improve oral health management and their application in clinical research will be discussed.

Dr. Christoph A. Ramseier, Symposium Chair
August 31, 2006, Ann Arbor, MI, USA