Teaching of direct posterior resin composite restorations in UK dental therapy training programmes.

AIM: With the numbers of dental therapists involved in the delivery of dental care within the UK on the increase, and the trend towards the use of direct resin composites (composites) for the restoration of posterior teeth, this study was undertaken to describe the teaching of posterior composites in dental therapy training programmes in the UK. A secondary aim was to identify differences in techniques for posterior composites taught within these dental therapy training programmes. METHODS: In 2008/9, a questionnaire seeking information on the teaching of posterior composites was distributed by email to 13 centres with dental therapy training programmes in the UK. This questionnaire sought information relating to the teaching of direct posterior composites to dental therapy students, including the amounts of preclinical and clinical teaching in respect of deciduous and permanent teeth, numbers of restorations placed, contraindications to placement, and details in respect of operative techniques. RESULTS: Ten completed responses were received (response rate = 77%). In ten programmes, student dental therapists received clinical training in the placement of composite restorations in the occlusal surfaces of premolar and permanent molar teeth, and nine programmes included such training for two and three surface occlusoproximal restorations. The mean proportions of posterior restorations placed clinically by the trainee dental therapists in permanent teeth using dental amalgam and composite were 52% and 46% respectively (range: amalgam = 20-95%; composite = 5-70%). CONCLUSION: With the exception of one programme, the teaching of posterior composites is a well established element of dental therapy training. Some variations were noted in the teaching of clinical techniques between respondent training centres. It is suggested that to ensure harmony in approaches to treatments provided by graduated therapists that training centres look to relevant consensus documents, such as those of the British Association for the Teaching of Conservative Dentistry. The findings of our study are important for the future provision of oral healthcare, given the growing evidence base in favour of minimally invasive dentistry.

Trends in dental education in the Persian Gulf--an example from Iran: contemporary placement of posterior composites.

In recent years, there has been expansion of dental education programmes from established European and North American schools into regions in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf States, and Asia. Accompanying this, there has been migration of dentists from these regions of the world to Europe and North America in the hope of finding employment or to pursue postgraduate education. Little awareness exists, however in western countries on the amount and level of clinical training provided in dental schools in which these dentists have trained. The aim of this paper is to investigate the teaching to undergraduate students in Iran of an important aspect of clinical dentistry which is showing continual development in western schools, namely the use of resin-based composites in the restoration of posterior teeth. In 2008, a questionnaire seeking information on the teaching of posterior resin-based composites was distributed by email to the person responsible for delivering teaching of operative dentistry in each of the 18 dental schools with undergraduate dental degree programmes in Iran. All 18 schools teach the placement of occlusal and occlusoproximal resin-based composite restorations in premolar and permanent molar teeth. Resin-based composites currently account for 42% of posterior direct restorations placed by undergraduates in Iran. Despite variations between dental schools being noted in the teaching of certain techniques for posterior resin-based composites, the overall extent and content of teaching of posterior resin-based composites in Iran could be described as comparable to that observed in western countries.