Diagnostic Sciences (DGS10-DN)

This didactic course focuses on introducing students to the new discipline of precision medicine. Medicine and dental medicine are moving into a new era of dramatic change in the delivery of healthcare. Instead of patients being treated in a generic, one-size-fits-all manner based on population statistics, an IT driven revolution is occurring that is changing the model of care in which doctors will be providing care to patients – it is the model of precision or personalized medicine. This new era is the era of salivary diagnostics and genomic medicine, to which students are introduced in this course. It will emphasize the significance of using salivary biomarkers as tools to diagnose and monitor such oral diseases as caries, pulpal pathology, periodontal and peri-implantal diseases, and orthodontic tooth movement. In addition, there will be lectures on inflammation, the ethical and legal ramifications of genomics, the meaning of risk and nutrition. This course is open only to students in the Doctor of Dental Surgery program. Elective.