Smoking severely affects dental health, and 80% of dentists consider smoking cessation counseling and advice as one of their medical responsibilities. However, the majority of dental health care workers do not do this. Reasons for this inaction are multifaceted, including lack of training, confidence, time and funding. Silverchair, Inc. has developed QuitAdvisorDDS as a tool for dentists to advise patients on tobacco cessation. This interactive, web-distributable tool assists dentists in providing patient-tailored smoking cessation counseling using proven patient-centered counseling techniques. QuitAdvisorDDS also enables dentists to rapidly determine the patient's stage of readiness for change through four simple prompted questions. Once the dentist has determined the patient's acceptance level, QuitAdvisorDDS will automatically proceed to a scripted motivational interview tailored to the patient's stage of change, while providing relevant health behavior information dentists can use to intervene with during the appointment. Finally, in addition to gathering information prior to the clinical encounter, QuitAdvisorDDS will also be able to track dentist behavior -identifying the clinician using the application, recording a time and date stamp each time the application is opened, recording which sections of the application are accessed and how much time is spent in each - thereby making it possible to evaluate healthcare delivery services, ensure quality treatment, and aid in the conduct of research. In Phase I, Silverchair will develop and evaluate a prototype of the tool with the help of researchers at the University of Kentucky.
This project has the potential to impact public health by improving dentists'knowledge and skills for tobacco and smoking cessation counseling. This will encourage patients to quit smoking/using tobacco, thus increasing overall public health, and reducing mortality and morbidity related to these habits.
