Tobacco cessation, the dental profession, and the role of dental education

Abstract

This article describes the development of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, tobacco cessation program based on twenty years of experience at the Indiana University (IU) School of Dentistry. It reviews the relationship between tobacco use and oral health, the nature of nicotine addiction and cessation approaches involving nicotine replacement therapy. In the early 1980s, tobacco control curriculum and cessation guidelines were introduced at the IU School of Dentistry and cooperative efforts initiated with other U.S. and Canadian dental schools. During the past decade, an interdisciplinary Nicotine Dependence Program has been developed to serve outpatients receiving treatment at all hospitals on the IU Medical Center campus. It is hoped that the models described here will be of value to other dental schools developing educational curricula and tobacco control and cessation programs.