JAAPA CME Post-Test September 2025
A Guide to Diagnosing and Managing Dental Pain and Infections
Dental pain, infections, and abscesses are common concerns
in primary care settings. Prompt diagnosis and targeted management are essential to prevent severe complications such as sepsis, bone or soft tissue loss, and airway compromise. This activity provides physician associates and other clinicians with practical, evidence-based strategies to identify and manage odontogenic infections, distinguish between infectious and
noninfectious dental pain, and select appropriate antibiotic regimens, with special attention to antibiotic resistance trends. It also highlights circumstances under which collaboration with dental specialists becomes necessary and emphasizes patient education to prevent recurrence. By bridging knowledge gaps in dental health management, this activity empowers clinicians to address these conditions confidently in outpatient settings, improving patient outcomes, reducing unnecessary ED visits, and lowering healthcare costs.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:- Accurately identify common infectious and noninfectious causes of dental pain to enhance diagnostic accuracy
- Apply evidence-based treatment strategies and antibiotic regimens tailored to odontogenic infections, accounting for resistance trends
- Determine the appropriate referral pathway for patients with dental pain or infection by distinguishing cases suitable for general dental care from those requiring specialty evaluation by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon
- Educate patients on evidence-based oral hygiene and preventive care practices to reduce the risk of recurrent dental infections and support long-term oral health
Perinatal Depression: Therapeutic Shared Decision-Making in Primary Care
The increasing use of antidepressants, escalating rates of
unintended pregnancy, and disproportionately high rate
of maternal suicide in the United States, as compared with
other high-income countries, all highlight the urgent need
for more clarity on available treatment options for perinatal
depression. Misrepresentative data obtained from animal
experiments and observational human studies, many of
which do not account for underlying mental illness as a
confounder, largely overestimate the teratogenicity of antidepressants. These outdated data—coupled with a lack of clear
guidance from leading agencies—have created a healthcare
scenario rife with decisional conflict. As general practitioners
frequently serve as patients’ first point of contact within the
US healthcare system, primary care is central to preconception and mental health management. This activity educates
primary care providers on the risks of untreated perinatal
depression and the realities of antidepressant teratogenicity.
Doubling as a narrative review, the article also synthesizes
available evidence to provide a risk-based guide for treatment with antidepressants that emphasizes a shared decision-making approach.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:- Describe the prevalence, risks, and consequences of untreated perinatal depression for maternal, neonatal, and child health, including its association with maternal suicide and adverse neonatal outcomes
- Explain the limitations of existing teratogenicity data on AD use during pregnancy, including the impact of confounding by indication and the shortcomings of animal and observational studies
- Clarify risks of specific outcomes with use of commonly prescribed ADs
- Identify evidence-based strategies for managing perinatal depression in primary care, including first-line pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments, and considerations for AD selection
- Apply principles of therapeutic shared decision-making to support pregnant patients in making informed choices using structured tools and evidence-based counseling
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