Insights

Stay up-to-date with the latest news and ideas in the fields of Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine, Geriatric Dentistry, Oral Pathology and Radiology, Pain Medicine and Pain Science, and Community Oral Health.

Relieving Chronic Abdominal Pain with Spinal Cord Stimulation

Relieving Chronic Abdominal Pain with Spinal Cord Stimulation

This article was originally published on Confronting Chronic Pain by Dr. Steven Richeimer, Director Pain Medicine Master and Certificate. Millions of people around the country suffer from chronic abdominal pain -- discomfort that has lasted for a period of at least...

TMJ Assessment: Jaw Range of Motion, Noise, and Tenderness

TMJ Assessment: Jaw Range of Motion, Noise, and Tenderness

X-ray image showing articular fossa and condyle.For TMJ mobilization procedures read: Closed Lock Mobilization: TMJ Exercises & Stretches. Jaw Range of Motion Assessment Prior to the procedure, introduce yourself to the patient, explain the purpose of the...

Does Self-Compassion Help with Chronic Pain Management?

Does Self-Compassion Help with Chronic Pain Management?

This article was originally published on Confronting Chronic Pain by Dr. Steven Richeimer, Director Pain Medicine Master and Certificate. Most people know that having compassion for others is a good thing. But how many people, especially those with chronic pain, have...

How to Perform a Salivary Gland and Salivary Flow Exam

How to Perform a Salivary Gland and Salivary Flow Exam

In previous articles, Dr. Roseann Mulligan explored Xerostomia, Salivary Gland Hypofunction, the role of saliva in older adults, and the causes of dry mouth including xerogenic medications and systemic diseases.  In this article, we'll cover a few practical methods to...

Managing Chronic Pain with a Mind-Body Physical Activity Program

Managing Chronic Pain with a Mind-Body Physical Activity Program

This article was originally published on Confronting Chronic Pain by Dr. Steven Richeimer, Director Pain Medicine Master and Certificate. Many people around the country suffer from chronic pain.  The good news is that there are also many different ways that people can...

How to Perform a Lymph Node Examination

How to Perform a Lymph Node Examination

Lymph Node Examination A lymph node evaluation should be included in all new patients as part of the oral cancer triage.  Below is a video showing the proper technique and a written explanation of what is expected from dentists when performing a lymph node and...

New Injection Techniques for Treating Chronic Foot Pain

New Injection Techniques for Treating Chronic Foot Pain

This article was originally published on Confronting Chronic Pain by Dr. Steven Richeimer, Director Pain Medicine Master and Certificate. There is a good chance that everyone knows someone who suffers from ongoing foot pain.  Millions of people have chronic foot pain,...

How to Plan and Implement a Community Health Program

How to Plan and Implement a Community Health Program

This is an adapted presentation by Professor Linda Brookman, RDHAP, BSDH, MS for the Community Health Program Planning and Implementation course as part of USC Ostrow’s Community Oral Health program. What is the public health pyramid? The public health pyramid is a...

Noninvasive, Non-Pharmacological Treatments for Chronic Pain

Noninvasive, Non-Pharmacological Treatments for Chronic Pain

This article was originally published on Confronting Chronic Pain by Dr. Steven Richeimer, Director Pain Medicine Master and Certificate. There are millions of people who suffer from chronic pain.  While many people turn to pharmacological or invasive treatments to...

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

This is an adapted presentation by Professor Linda Brookman, RDHAP, BSDH, MS for the Community Health Program Planning and Implementation course as part of USC Ostrow's Community Oral Health program. What is health equity? According to the World Health Organization...

Proposed Mechanism and Treatment of Palatal Myoclonus

Proposed Mechanism and Treatment of Palatal Myoclonus

Myoclonus is a frequently observed hyperkinetic movement disorder, which is often classified according to its anatomical origin. [1] Palatal myoclonus is characterized by involuntary palatal contractions, causing clicking tinnitus due to the action of soft palate...

Mechanism and Treatment of Orofacial Motor Tics

Mechanism and Treatment of Orofacial Motor Tics

Rather than a voluntary movement, a tic is a movement which relieves a voluntary urge, and this is the key characteristic which differentiates a tic from another movement disorder. Motor tics of the orofacial area include tongue protrusion, facial grimacing, blinking,...

Distance Education vs. Correspondence Courses

Distance Education vs. Correspondence Courses

Not all online programs are the same. Let’s look at the definition of a correspondence course versus an eLearning experience. Why is the distinction important? While there has been no payment made by St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, the U.S. Department of Education’s...

Create an Asynchronous eLearning Experience in 4 Easy Steps

Create an Asynchronous eLearning Experience in 4 Easy Steps

Before we cover the four steps for creating an asynchronous eLearning experience, here are three studies that demonstrate the benefits of using interactive video content in eLearning courses. The Effectiveness of Embedded Content as form of Active Learning The best...

How to Motivate Students: EPAs, Badges, and Experience Points

How to Motivate Students: EPAs, Badges, and Experience Points

The final installment in the F.I.S.G.R. acronym for effectively teaching online is “R,” which stands for rewards. In general, the principle is that rewards do in fact motivate students. Before explaining badges and experience points, it is important to explain...

Understanding Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

Understanding Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is a painful condition of nerve malfunction that usually follows an injury to an extremity. The pain exceeds in both magnitude and duration the expected clinical course of the original injury, often resulting in significant impairment of...

How to Use Guided Discovery Questions to Deepen Learning

How to Use Guided Discovery Questions to Deepen Learning

Guided discovery means that the instructor creates questions and suggests resources for students to research and on which to report. These questions are typically given to students at the end of a lecture or following a patient case problem. The article, Student...

3 Best Practices for Creating an Interactive Course Manual

3 Best Practices for Creating an Interactive Course Manual

There are several pieces of circumstantial evidence that exist to support the idea that students don't read textbooks anymore. For example, Pearson, the largest publisher of educational textbooks has said they are phasing out print books and making all learning...

Researchers Find Sleep Quality Can Impact Chronic Pain Response

Researchers Find Sleep Quality Can Impact Chronic Pain Response

This article was originally published by Dr. Steven Richeimer on Confronting Chronic Pain. Most people would agree that if you get a good night’s sleep, you are likely better ready to take on challenges that come your way. Researchers set out to see if sleep quality...

How to Increase Student Performance with Active Learning

How to Increase Student Performance with Active Learning

In this installment of our series on effective online teaching, we will cover the basics of creating a recorded interactive lecture and an interactive course manual. In subsequent articles, we will explore the technology needed to do this. Our goal is to go well...

Flexible Coping Strategies May Help with Chronic Pain & Depression

Flexible Coping Strategies May Help with Chronic Pain & Depression

This article was originally published on Confronting Chronic Pain. One of the most important things that those who have chronic pain can do is to learn about the many different coping strategies that exist. There are many to choose from, and there is science behind...

Teledentistry – Frequently Asked Questions

Teledentistry – Frequently Asked Questions

These FAQs were collected from a recent webinar on Telehealth & COVID-19 presented by the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry with Dr. Glenn Clark, Professor Linda Brookman, Dr. Kamal Aleryani, and Dr. Steven Richeimer. What is Teledentistry in 2020? “Teledentistry”...

How to Teach Online Courses Effectively

How to Teach Online Courses Effectively

I recommend five things that you should consider using if you want to teach interactively: focused lectures, interactive teaching, supplementation, guided and structured discovery, and rewards (F.I.S.G.R.) 1. Focused, Short, Up-to-Date Lectures The first letter is “F”...

Help Others, Help Yourself: Altruistic Behaviors Relieve Chronic Pain

Help Others, Help Yourself: Altruistic Behaviors Relieve Chronic Pain

This article was originally published on Confronting Chronic Pain. If you have ever done something nice for someone else, you know that it gives you a great feeling. We all like the feeling that we get when we have taken action to do something for someone in need....

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