An Iowa native has been named president of the American Dental Association. Dr. Jim Bramson opened his first practice in Parkersburg, after graduating from the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry. After all these years, he says it’s still the human, not the technology, that’s important in dental care.He says science and inventions can make a dentist more accurate and efficient, but it’s the dentist “at chairside” that makes dental care valuable to the patient. Dr. Bramson has heard claims that dentists will put themselves out of business, but he says even with fluoride and better care, people will always get cavities.He says there are places and groups where there are still plenty of problems. Bramson says 80 percent of cavities occur in 25 percent of kids, more in certain regions and among the poor. He says dentists are expanding their healthcare role, becoming “oral physicians.”He says with people living longer and keeping their own teeth, there’s more gum disease to treat. If your teeth are crowded, that genetic tendency still means braces, and a lot more cosmetic dentistry is done because people choose it. On the whole, Bramson says American dental health has improved over the years.
