Knowing (and understanding) the key numbers for your practice.

Most dentists see accounting and bookkeeping as a necessary evil instead of a helpful tool. Yet the most financially successful and happy dentists understand the need for good financial management. Here's an overview that will help you better-understand the key numbers in your practice.

Participation in continuing professional development by Victorian dental practitioners in 2004.

BACKGROUND: Continuing professional development (CPD) has been long considered an integral component of professional practice across a range of health professions. It is believed to ensure the maintenance of practitioner clinical competence and knowledge of current concepts. This study investigated the participation in and attitudes of Victorian dental personnel to CPD activities. METHODS: A self-administered cross-sectional survey of a random sample of registered dental care providers (n = 451) was conducted from March to June 2005 using an anonymous, postal, self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The response rate was low (48.1 per cent). Nearly 90 per cent of respondents attended a CPD course in 2004, with the mean hours of attendance ranging from 8.3 to 36.9 hours, depending on registration category. Nearly half of the dentists attended more than 20 hours of CPD courses, while less than 20 per cent of prosthetists attended more than 15 hours of CPD courses. Three-quarters of respondents supported mandatory CPD as a condition of registration. CONCLUSIONS: There was a high level of participation in continuing professional development activities by surveyed Victorian dental care providers in 2004, although more than half of the dentists and specialists, and nearly two-thirds of therapists, hygienists and prosthetists would fail to meet the new DPBV mandatory requirements for CPD.

Massive Open Online Courses in Dental Education: Two Viewpoints: Viewpoint 1: Massive Open Online Courses Offer Transformative Technology for Dental Education and Viewpoint 2: Massive Open Online Courses Are Not Ready for Primetime.

This point/counterpoint article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of incorporating Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) into dental education, focusing on whether this relatively new educational modality could impact traditional dental curricula. Viewpoint 1 asserts that MOOCs can be useful in dental education because they offer an opportunity for students to learn through content and assessment that is delivered online. While specific research on MOOCs is limited, some evidence shows that online courses may produce similar learning outcomes to those in face-to-face courses. Given that MOOCs are intended to be open source, there could be opportunities for dental schools with faculty shortages and financial constraints to incorporate these courses into their curricula. In addition to saving money, dental schools could use MOOCs as revenue sources in areas such as continuing education. Viewpoint 2 argues that the hype over MOOCs is subsiding due in part to weaker than expected evidence about their value. Because direct contact between students, instructors, and patients is essential to the dental curriculum, MOOCs have yet to demonstrate their usefulness in replacing more than a subset of didactic courses. Additionally, learning professionalism, a key component of health professions education, is best supported by mentorship that provides significant interpersonal interaction. In spite of the potential of early MOOC ideology, MOOCs in their current form require either further development or altered expectations to significantly impact dental education.

Educational needs and employment status of Scottish dental hygienists.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the educational needs and employment status of registered dental hygienists in Scotland. SUBJECTS: Three hundred and eighty one registered dental hygienists with postal addresses in Scotland. DESIGN: Structured questionnaire. RESULTS: A 76% response rate was achieved following two mailings. Of the respondents, 43% were in full-time employment albeit in more than one setting, mostly in the 'central belt' of Scotland. It was reported that 41% were employed in general dental practice with both NHS and private lists and 39% worked in a purely private setting. The introduction of extended clinical duties had been well received and 59% of subjects were interested in additional training in dental therapy, should this become available. Absence of funding for CPD was raised repeatedly, with only 41% reporting a degree of financial assistance. Greater accessibility to continuing education via distance learning, particularly in remote and rural settings, was requested by 73% of hygienists. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies a number of issues in relation to this increasingly important group of healthcare professionals, which will inform the providers of oral healthcare. Although hygienists' involvement in CPD was commendable, results indicated that despite commitment to their profession, respondents did not always feel respected in terms of their employment status or support for continuing professional development.

Dental school continuing education courses: ten-year retrospective study.

As the public has demonstrated concern for the continuing education of dentists through mandatory requirements, data derived from the continuing education course listings in The Journal and annual reports from ADA Council on Dental Education, Division of Educational Measurements, were used to characterize continuing dental education. Included in the analysis were tuition, course length, and content or subject areas of the courses.

The use of 'academic detailing' to promote tobacco-use cessation counseling in dental offices.

BACKGROUND: The authors conducted this study to ascertain the feasibility of face-to-face educational outreach visits, also called "academic detailing," as a methodology to promote dentists' adoption and incorporation of tobacco-use cessation counseling activities into their practices. METHODS: The authors obtained a sampling frame of one dental health maintenance organization's, or DHMO's, enrolled dentists who practiced in one of four Northeastern states and who had more than 300 DHMO patients. Of 507 eligible dentists, 88 agreed to participate, and the authors randomly assigned them to either intervention (an academic detailing program) or control (practice as usual) conditions. Changes in practice behaviors over time were obtained by questionnaires. The authors used descriptive statistics to analyze data using a statistics software package. RESULTS: Only 9 percent of dentists who agreed to participate had received any training in decreasing patients' tobacco use. The authors associated the dentists' staff members' considerable resistance to the detailing program with issues such as having to deal with additional paperwork and uncooperative patients, the perception that only a few patients use tobacco and that counseling does not work. Many dentists also expressed concern about their lack of tobacco-use cessation knowledge. Overall, dentists' resistance to detailing decreased with follow-up detailing visits. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to increase and incorporate tobacco-use cessation counseling in dental offices. However, significant barriers must be surmounted first if this goal is to be achieved by use of academic detailing. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Using academic detailing, dentists can be effective agents in increasing the longevity, decreasing the morbidity and improving the oral health status of their patients through the promotion of smoking cessation.

ADA members weigh in on perceptions of the ADA and association priorities.

BACKGROUND: The American Dental Association conducted the 2000 Membership Needs and Opinions Survey to evaluate the professional needs and personal perceptions of ADA members on selected topics. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to a sample of 6,310 ADA members in January 2000 with follow-up mailings in February, March and April 2000. Data collection was completed in July 2000. The survey included questions on critical professional issues, perceptions of the American Dental Association and its priorities. A total of 3,558 surveys were received for an adjusted response rate of 59.5 percent. Only professionally active dentists who were ADA members were included in the sampling frame. RESULTS: Members evaluated statements about the American Dental Association, revealing their perceptions of the ADA on key issues. Findings showed strong support for the ADA Seal program, agreement that the ADA enhances the integrity and ethics of the profession and that the ADA is the premier professional association for dentists. Findings also provided information regarding the relative importance of ADA priorities by allocating "dues dollars" in $5 increments. The highest priorities were "providing continuing education to dentists," "lobbying members of Congress and federal regulatory agencies" and "influencing national public health policy." CONCLUSIONS: ADA members, both new and established dentists, had positive perceptions of the Association and its programs. Although there was general agreement between these groups concerning ADA priorities, there was a substantial difference between some subgroups (especially graduate students and federally employed dentists) and the overall membership on the issue of changes in the licensure process to facilitate dentists' freedom of movement. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The Association should continue to take into account the membership's perceptions of the ADA and its priorities, as well as note issues of special interest to selected membership subgroups, in the planning and implementation of Association activities.

Worldwide survey on distance learning in dental education.

This paper reports the results of a worldwide survey on distance learning initiated by the FDI. The results indicate that dental associations in many countries are in the process of investigating the various options available, and in development, for bringing continuing education to their members with the maximum convenience and effectiveness. Details are given of advantages, disadvantages and relative costs of the different methods undertaken. Recommendations are made for future development and progress.

Getting back to dental practice.

The results from the survey 'The Provision of Dental Care by Women Dentists in England and Wales in 1985' indicated that the lack of a specific retraining course was a major barrier in preventing women who have left dental practice from returning to work. The need for a course also applied to men and women who have ceased to work because of ill-health.

What are Section 63 and 'approved' courses and how are they organised?

Although Section 63 courses for general dental practitioners in the NHS have been running for many years, there seems to be poor understanding of what 'Section 63' means and how it operates. To some extent this is because of the changes which have taken place since it was introduced and the tremendous expansion in postgraduate dental education (and its objectives) in recent years. The introduction of other 'approved' courses and postgraduate education allowances have created further uncertainties. This paper gives an overview of Section 63, the source of the funds, how they are allocated, how they may be used and who is eligible, and outlines details of other 'approved' courses and the various allowances which GDPs can claim in relation to these different categories of courses.

A survey of general dental practitioners' postgraduate education activity and demand for extended modular postgraduate programmes.

The aim of this paper is to assess the level of involvement of general dental practitioners in postgraduate education and training, identify their speciality interests, preferred format of course presentation and assess the potential demand for modular postgraduate programmes. A questionnaire analysis of a one in three random sample of general dental practitioners on Health Authority lists in the North West of England and North Wales was designed and carried out. Out of a random sample of 799, 552 GDPs completed an anonymous questionnaire in 1998 which investigated their current postgraduate activity, the areas of specialist interest and their interest in extended modular postgraduate education courses with associated summative assessment. Fifty three percent of respondents attended more than four postgraduate sessions per year of whom the majority (59%) were in 35-44 year old age group. 79% identified Section 63 courses as their first preference and 63% preferred mixed didactic and 'hands on' courses. Seventy five percent of respondents expressed an interest in attending modular programmes which might lead to a postgraduate qualification. In conclusion, an enthusiasm to attend existing postgraduate courses was identified but a demand was also perceived for courses of longer duration possibly leading to additional postgraduate qualifications.