Search

Background Supportive periodontal care (SPC) is important in maintaining periodontal treatment outcomes. Hospital services provide specialist periodontal care at high costs. On completion of treatment, patients are discharged back to the general dental practitioner (GDP) to provide SPC. This project aimed to evaluate the change in GDPs' understanding of SPC over more than 20 years.Method A validated questionnaire about SPC was sent to GDPs during 1996 (397) and 2020 (300), with a response rate of 74% and 52%, respectively. The anonymous data were entered on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for analysis.Results In total, 98.5% of the GDPs in 1996 and 97% in 2020 perceived SPC to be highly important. Additionally, 49% in 2020 had a better understanding of SPC when compared to 1996 (42%). Finally, 70-74% (1996, 2020) of the GDPs indicated that they were responsible for SPC; however, 13-16% said that they were not.Conclusion and clinical relevance Notwithstanding the lower response rate in 2020, there has been an improvement in understanding and awareness of responsibility of SPC among GDPs. Reported challenges of provision were related to education and funding. If GDPs are to effectively deliver SPC, education and current funding should be addressed to prevent compromised treatment outcomes for patients., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the British Dental Association.)

Supportive periodontal care is an essential component of maintaining the outcome of periodontal treatment. It is essential to ensure cost benefit to both patients and the health services where millions are spent on treating patients with periodontal disease. The dentist must be able to recognise the crucial and important role they play in providing supportive care and therapy to periodontally compromised patients, either independently or as part of a wider dental team, over and above the various challenges they may experience in the provision of such care in general dental practice. The timely intervention with treatment or referral during this phase will help reduce the risk of tooth loss and adverse consequences to the dentist and their team by way of litigation. The aim of this paper is to provide an update on the delivery of supportive periodontal care in general dental practice with a particular reference to the role of the dentist., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the British Dental Association.)

Introduction The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in an unprecedented shut down of all elective dental services, with normal training activity being suspended. This questionnaire-based survey reports on the experiences of a cohort of dental trainees who participated in redeployment during the pandemic.Materials and methods The questionnaires were distributed via Survey Monkey to 47 trainees, before and eight weeks after redeployment.Results A total of 29 trainees completed the questionnaire before redeployment and 32 completed it eight weeks after redeployment finished. The majority of trainees, before the redeployment, reported that inadequate information was given about the redeployment and a minority reported that they were struggling to cope with the pandemic. The post-redeployment questionnaire showed that all trainees felt that they had been well supported, with structured induction and help being given by the hosting service. They also stated that they had learnt skills beyond what they would have obtained as part of their training, with 86% of trainees saying that they would be happy to be redeployed again.Conclusion This survey shows that despite the initial anxiety expressed by the dental trainees at the outset, they had an overwhelmingly positive experience, enhancing their personal development and overall training experience. The survey highlights the need to ensure that appropriate and timely information and guidance is available for trainees, to help support their general and mental wellbeing when unprecedented events occur., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the British Dental Association.)

Introduction The extent to which initial therapy has been provided prior to referral for periodontal disease remains unclear despite guidance provided by the British Society of Periodontology.Aim This audit aimed to assess the information given in the referral letter, how this compared to patients' perception of treatment received, the referrers' reports of treatment provided and findings at consultation. The gold standard was taken from the British Society of Periodontology referral criteria which states that all patients should undergo initial periodontal therapy prior to referral.Method Data were collected via questionnaires from 100 randomly selected patients referred for periodontal treatment from patients at consultation and subsequently from the referring practitioners.Results All 100 patients had incomplete referrals with 12 patients having Basic Periodontal Examination (BPE) scores corresponding to those at consultation. Eighty-five patients reported receiving oral hygiene instructions (OHI) and 91 patients root surface debridement (RSD), prior to referral. Twenty-five dentists participated in the survey and reported spending more time providing initial therapy than the patients.Discussion and conclusion Most patients reported having undergone initial periodontal treatment, however, the extent was at variance to the referrers' reports. BPE scores were inaccurate and the majority of referrers failed to provide a diagnosis, with incorrect terminology used. The study highlights the need for improving the management of periodontal disease in primary care.