Periodontal education and assessment in the undergraduate dental curriculum-A questionnaire-based survey in European countries.

OBJECTIVES: This survey aimed to evaluate whether periodontal education and assessment in undergraduate dental curricula amongst the member countries of the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) follow the competency-based curricular guidelines and recommendations developed by the Association for Dental Education in Europe. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multiple-choice questionnaire was emailed to 244 dental institutes amongst the 24 EFP member countries between November 2014 and July 2015. RESULTS: Data were received from 16 (66.7%) EFP member countries. Out of 117 responding dental institutes, 76 (64.95%) were included as valid responders. In most of the institutes (86.3%), a minimum set of competencies in periodontology was taken into account when constructing their dental education programmes. Out of 76 responders, 98.1% included lecture-based, 74.1% case-based and 57.1% problem-based teaching in their periodontal curricula, whilst a minority (15.9%) also used other methods. A similar pattern was also seen in the time allocation for these four educational methods, that is, the highest proportion (51.8%) was dedicated to lecture-based teaching and only a small proportion (5.7%) to other methods. Periodontal competencies and skills were most frequently assessed by clinical grading on clinic, multiple-choice examination (written examination) and oral examination, whereas competency tests and self-assessment were rarely used. Only in 11 (14.5%) cases, access flap procedures were performed by students. CONCLUSION: Great diversity in teaching methodology amongst the surveyed schools was demonstrated, and thus, to harmonise undergraduate periodontal education and assessment across Europe, a minimum set of recommendations could be developed and disseminated by the EFP.

European Federation of Periodontology-the first twenty-five years: periodontal health for a better life.

The European Federation of Periodontology (EFP), founded in 1991, has become one of Europe's foremost dental organisations and a global force in the field of Periodontology, including implant dentistry. This paper records the many, different achievements of the EFP in its short but selfless and highly successful contributions to the Federation.

[The mean timing of periodontic care rendering].

The time-studies demonstrated that the periodontologist spend 30.3 +/- 2.6 minutes on the primary ambulatory visit of patient and 16.4 +/- 0.9 minutes on the revisit of patient (non-registering time spending on preventive and curative activities). Time spending on curative preventive activities in each group of patients with periodontal diseases depended on both the severity of inflammatory destructive processes in periodontium and therapy stage.

Dental visit patterns and periodontal treatment needs among Saudi students.

The aim of this study was to report on dental visit patterns and their association with periodontal health among young Saudi Arabian students. A representative sample of 3090 students was randomly selected. The students' dental visit patterns were assessed with a questionnaire. Clinical examinations were carried out using the community periodontal index of treatment needs. Age, sex and education level were significantly associated with the periodontal health. The prevalence of periodontal disease was significantly lower among subjects who were taught the right way to brush their teeth by the dentist. The highest occurrence of healthy periodontium (23.9%) and the lowest need for complex treatment (0%) were found among students who had annual reminders for check-ups (only 2.8% of the students).

Economic models to help periodontists evaluate their practices: how to analyze a practice to assess the potential impact of managed care contracts.

The purpose of this article is to examine 10 steps analyzing the financial impact on a periodontal practice accepting a proposed managed care dental plan. It is emphasized that this analysis should be conducted before formally agreeing to accept the proposed plan. The procedures for examining the 10 steps include the use of hypothetical data for a periodontal practice confronted with a discounted fee plan. Each step is identified, discussed, and the hypothetical data are used to develop results presented in a set of tables. The steps in the analysis process include constructing a practice profit and loss statement and developing a dataset of practice characteristics and productivity measures. Other estimates should be made of covered lives, new patient utilization, existing patient utilization, utilization of non-covered services, estimating other sources of revenue and expense, and the impact on capacity utilization of operatories and practice staff. Results are presented in a set of analysis tables. The importance of multiple analyses is discussed as is the importance of analyzing the impact on results from changing assumptions. Some of the higher risk variables faced by the practitioner are identified for submission to risk evaluation to examine the sensitivity of results. Finally, the relationship between the proposed plan and the additional time required by the periodontist to meet the plan's specifications is examined in light of the data developed in the 10 steps and the results tables.

Dental insurance and the periodontal patient.

Approximately one-half of the United States population is covered by a dental benefit plan. One-fifth of that group is covered under various types of managed care contracts, and this number is said to be increasing by 15% to 20% per year. However, dentists report that these plans have not had a major impact upon their practices. Only 6% of patients were covered by them, and only 2% of gross receipts were derived from them. Periodontists surveyed were divided in their opinions about how managed care has affected their practices. This paper discusses these changes, particularly with regard to income, referral patterns, treatment decisions, and ethical and legal liability.

Non-attendance at periodontal clinics: forgetting and administrative failure.

Using a case-control design, non-attenders and attenders at a periodontal clinic were sent postal questionnaires in order to compare the sociodemographic characteristics of non-attenders and attenders. Non-attenders were also asked why they failed to attend. The main reason given was that they had forgotten about their appointment. Administrative error was the second most frequent category of response explaining non-attendance. Differences in sociodemographic characteristics between attenders and non-attenders did not appear to explain non-attendance, apart from car and telephone ownership. Time between notice of an appointment and the way patients received their appointments was associated with non-attendance. Non-attenders viewed their problem as less serious than attenders.

Probing into perio in San Francisco.

In March 1993 I left the chill of Manchester looking forward to my undergraduate elective visit to the warmer University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Dentistry. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a pre-arranged teaching programme for a period of 3 weeks, which included periodontology as the main subject but also covered the treatment of temporomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome and implantology.

Problems in restorative dentistry: who copes with them?

The views of general dental practitioners, practising in part of the Yorkshire Region, as to how they would cope with a variety of restorative problems were sought using a questionnaire. If advice or advice and treatment were to be requested from a consultant in restorative dentistry, the questionnaire was designed to discover whether the distance from a hospital created a barrier to the preferred course of action. Only one-third of the dentists were happy to treat a troublesome complete denture case, provide a replacement obturator or look after a natural dentition with considerable periodontal problems. Travel constraints were particularly apparent when it came to seeking help for the elderly edentulous patient. The results of the study indicate that in the Yorkshire Region, there is a high level of demand for consultant advice and treatment for a number of common restorative problems.

[The organization and modern principles of the treatment of periodontitis in the Armed Forces]. / Organizatsiia i sovremennye printsipy lecheniia parodontita v Vooruzhennykh Silakh.

The article deals with the questions of spreading and the structure of periodontitis among servicemen, as well as the peculiarities of prophylaxis and medical care in military units and medical institution. The authors show the priority of surgical methods of treatment (curettage, flap operation). Characteristic features of pre-operational preparation are described, as well as methods of conservative treatment (general and local), and professional hygiene of the oral cavity.

Practice based research networks impacting periodontal care: PEARL Initiative.

In 2005, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research /National Institutes of Health funded the largest initiative to date to affect change in the delivery of oral care. This commentary provides the background for the first study related to periodontics in a Practice Based Research Network (PBRN). It was conducted in the Practitioners Engaged in Applied Research & Learning (PEARL) Network. The PEARL Network is headquartered at New York University College of Dentistry. The basic tenet of the PBRN initiative is to engage clinicians to participate in clinical studies, where they will be more likely to accept the results and to incorporate the findings into their practices. This process may reduce the translational gap that exists between new findings and the time it takes for them to be incorporated into clinical practice. The cornerstone of the PBRN studies is to conduct comparative effectiveness research studies to disseminate findings to the profession and improve care. This is particularly important because the majority of dentists practice independently. Having practitioners generate clinical data allows them to contribute in the process of knowledge development and incorporate the results in their practice to assist in closing the translational gap. With the advent of electronic health systems on the horizon, dentistry may be brought into the mainstream health care paradigm and the PBRN concept can serve as the skeletal framework for advancing the profession provided there is consensus on the terminology used.