LibGuides: Dental Assisting: Websites

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Dental Assisting - Useful Links

MedlinePlus - Dental Health A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine from the National Institutes of Health, MedLine Plus provides links and documents related to Dental Health.
healthfinder.gov A government Web site where you will find information and tools to help you and those you care about stay healthy. Includes links and documents covering dental health.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research NIDCR provides general information on oral health as well as information on clinical trials, current research, grants & funding, and careers & training. Also provides data and statistics for a number of dental topics.
National Center for Dental Hygiene Research & Practice A home base for the National Center for Dental Hygiene Research & Practice and your connection to research resources that support dental hygiene education, practice and research.
Oral Pathology Review Images (VCU) Dr. Dennis Page of the Department of Oral Pathology (now Oral Diagnostic Sciences) of the VCU School of Dentistry developed this collection of images to help students learn about the most common abnormalities of the oral cavity. The collection includes images of soft tissue abnormalities and radiographic abnormalities of the oral cavity.
bracesinfo - Dental Terms A basic dictionary of dental terms covering general dental terms and definitions of orthodontic terms.
WHO Global oral health status report: towards universal health coverage for oral health by 2030 The WHO Global oral health status report reviews the most recent data on major oral diseases, risk factors, health system challenges and opportunities for reform. The report’s clear conclusion is that the status of global oral health is alarming and requires urgent action.
HygieneTown Hygienetown is an interactive healthcare community working to connect dentists to their peers, dental service providers and manufacturers.

Organizations and Associations for Dental Assisting

Health Statistics

NOTE: Many government and organizational websites include statistical information and/or other research.

2020 Statistical Abstract From the U.S. Census Bureau covering "statistics on health expenditures and insurance coverage, including Medicare and Medicaid, medical personnel, hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities, injuries, diseases, disability status, nutritional intake of the population, and food consumption."
Centers for Disease Control National and international data for diseases and conditions.
Hospital Compare Compare the quality of care that hospitals provide. It provides a list of U.S. hospitals which includes hospital demographics (location, hospital type) and 44 quality-of-care measures.
National Center for Health Statistics This division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gathers statistics on many health topics. An excellent place to start your search for health statistics.

How to Evaluate Websites - Quick Tips

Evaluate websites that have information you would like to use in your assignments.

Look on each website for an "About Us" page to answer some of the following questions:

Who is the author?
What are his/her qualifications?
Why was the website created?
When was it last updated?
How reliable is the information?

Learn More About How to Evaluate Websites

Better Googling

	("flossing" OR "water pick") AND tooth decay site:.gov
	174,000 results
	How does flossing affect tooth decay?
	3,150,000 results

Here's how to craft a better search to get fewer and more relevant results:

Identify the main ideas in your research question.
How does flossing effect tooth decay?
Connect the main ideas with AND.
flossing AND tooth decay
Use quotation marks around 2 or more words that need to be together.
flossing AND "tooth decay"
Use OR between synonyms/related terms.
(flossing" OR "water pick") AND "tooth decay"
Limit your search to a specific domain, such as .edu, .gov, or .org.
("flossing" OR "water pick") AND tooth decay site:.gov

More information on advanced Google searching and Google Scholar.

Wikipedia and Academic Research

How Wikipedia CAN be useful in the beginning stages of research:

	A basic overview of your topic.
	Important names, vocabulary and keywords related to your topic.
	Table of contents for some entries, helping you to understand how your topic can be organized.
	References and other websites that may be helpful (though you will need to evaluate them to be sure).

Why NOT to use Wikipedia for academic research:

X The accuracy and authority of a Wikipedia article cannot be verified.