What's Inside  Tobacco Use Cessation Program
	• School Program & Clinical Protocols • Office Tobacco Cessation Interventions • Tobaco Use and Cessation Topics • Publications • Resource Links

In memory of Dr. Eric Stafne (1935-2010) The Tobacco Cessation Program at the School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota was founded by Eric E. Stafne, DDS, MSD in 1995. Dr. Stafne also served as the director of such a program since its inception, and until his death in August 2010. Dr. Stafne's contributions to fields of clinical Periodontology in general and tobacco cessation in particular are rare and exceptional. Above all, Dr. Stafne was an extraordinary human being who enriched the lives of our patients, students, faculty and staff in more ways than can be expressed. He will be greatly missed.

The use of tobacco products is an important concern for the dental profession. Studies have shown that oral health care professionals can be very effective in helping their patients stop using tobacco. When dental professionals assist their patients with tobacco use cessation, they eliminate an important causative/contributing factor for a number of oral conditions, including cancer. Smoking is also a major risk factor for periodontal diseases.

By assisting their patients with tobacco use cessation, dental professionals can improve the outcome of dental treatment and at the same time add years and quality to their patients' lives.

Training in tobacco use cessation intervention should begin in dental and dental hygiene schools. Our didactic and clinical components of the Tobacco Cessation Program at the School of Dentistry allow our students to become knowledgable about and comfortable with helping their tobacco using patients. This web is designed to support the above mentioned program.

Bashar Bakdash, DDS, MPH, MSD
Professor and Director, Division of Periodontology
Department of Developmental and Surgical Sciences
School of Dentistry
Email: bakda001@umn.edu