The periodontal senior case clinical challenge: Students' opinions of a formative virtual assessment during the COVID-19 emergency.

INTRODUCTION: Due to COVID-19, innovative, virtual educational methods are being developed to provide students with learning experiences comparable to established clinical practices. Our objective was to produce the Periodontal Senior Case Clinical Challenge (PSCCC) that would provide fourth-year students an alternative for senior case presentations and would be a formative assessment for which student opinions would be provided and analysed. The PSCCC would utilise an online, case-based, written, clinical assessment and follow-up, structured discussion to challenge students to demonstrate ability to apply didactic periodontal knowledge to patient-based experiences. We hypothesised the PSCCC would provide effective learning and a formative assessment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Relevant didactic resources were distributed to 48 students for independent review. The PSCCC was delivered in two sections, (1) a case-based assessment via a virtual classroom with written student responses, and (2) oral discussions conducted via virtual meetings that were moderated and assessed by ten periodontists, with the collaboration of nine residents. A voluntary six-statement survey was used to evaluate the students' opinions of the PSCCC. The scores for 75% (36/48) of students who participated were evaluated for statistical and clinical importance. RESULTS: The value of our PSCCC was supported by 91.7% (33/36) of the analyses (p < .0008). DISCUSSION: The PSCCC was a successful alternative pathway to assess students' clinical and didactic integrated knowledge in periodontics. It provided a unified vision of treatment of the selected case, building on all aspects of the students' periodontal education whilst allowing interaction in a simultaneous, three-tiered educational approach, involving dental students, periodontal residents and faculty. CONCLUSION: In support of our hypothesis, for each of the 6 statements, ≥94.44% (34/36) of the scores given by the students were considered exceptionally strong clinical support for our pedagogical strategy that combines educational resources and can be successfully implemented in other programmes.

A rotated palatal flap ridge preservation technique to enhance restorative and hard and soft tissue esthetics for tooth replacement in the anterior maxilla.

Hard and soft tissue alveolar ridge deformities occur following the extraction of teeth, creating functional and esthetic tooth replacement challenges, especially in the maxillary anterior smile zone. A surgical technique using a rotated palatal flap for ridge preservation is discussed that, whether combined with conventional fixed dentures or implant treatment for tooth replacement, provides the possibility for greatly improved esthetics. This technique, used in combination with or in preparation for implant treatment, allows for preservation of the alveolar bone height and width for improved implant size and placement options. In addition, preservation and enhancement of the soft tissue at the extraction site provides for soft tissue contours adjacent to the definitive restoration that vary little from those of the original natural tooth. Combined with conventional fixed dentures, use of this technique creates a template of the labial and interproximal sulcus of the extracted tooth, allowing for the molding of an ovate pontic replacement tooth. This results in vastly improved restorative emergence profiles with minimal or no change in the height of the labial gingival margin and the form and height of the interproximal papillae with adjacent teeth.

The periodontal factor in esthetic smile design--altering gingival display.

The periodontal soft and hard tissues are an important determinant of restorative smile esthetics. Management of the periodontal tissues that "frame" each tooth is crucial to esthetic smile design. This article describes a four-step technique that makes it possible to sculpt the position of the labial gingival margin to provide additional crown height or length, a process the author describes as smile sculpting. This periodontal smile sculpting can aid in determining the pre-restorative treatment profile for teeth and create a blueprint for the restorative dentist to enhance a patient's final esthetic treatment results. Crucial to understanding this process is an appreciation of the periodontal principles that govern smile design, especially the periodontal biologic width and the influence of the underlying hard tissue bony architecture in defining the periodontal envelope from which the teeth emerge.