Melbourne Dental School - Theses

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End date: 2009 × Subject: dentistry ×

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    Effectiveness and efficiency: systematic reflections on single- and multiple-visit root canal treatment
    SATHORN, CHANKHRIT ( 2008)
    Single-visit root canal treatment was first documented in 1887. The controversy and debate within the dental community has been ongoing for over a century without resolution. The concept of evidence-based health practice has provided a structure on which the clinically-relevant questions in this debate can be dealt with systematically. When clinicians are faced with choices of which treatment regimen should be offered to patients, the central issues that should be considered are effectiveness, complications, patient/operator preference/satisfaction, and cost. Systematic review and meta-analysis techniques were used to reach definitive conclusions where high quality primary studies are available. The issue of satisfaction was studied using a quality of life concept, while the issue of cost was addressed by an economic evaluation (cost-minimization analysis). Treatment effectiveness and complications of single- and multiple-visit approach were similar. Patients overwhelmingly preferred single- over multiple-visit treatment with high satisfaction scores for both regimens. Australian endodontists were reluctant to embrace single-visit root canal treatment. Single-visit root canal treatment costs society less than multiple-visit treatment. On balance single-visit treatment offers substantial advantages with no identified adverse effects.
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    An analysis of the effectiveness of a continuing professional development (CPD) program for dentists in Victoria
    Sethi, Bikram ( 2009)
    Periodontitis is a common condition resulting in destruction of periodontal tissues and eventually tooth loss. Every patient requires appropriate diagnosis and treatment by their dental practitioner. Periodontics has undergone many innovations in recent years. It is the onus of the treating dentist to keep abreast of developments in order to provide quality care to their patients. Unfortunately there is literature indicating that some Victorian dentists may not be following appropriate clinical practice in the identification and management of the periodontal needs of their patients. To address this, the School of Dental Science, the University of Melbourne, began conducting a Continuing Professional Development course titled ‘Periodontics via Distance Learning’. The course was composed of a mixture of hands on, distance learning and didactic components. This study assessed changes in clinical practice of course participants via the use of a delayed impact on practice questionnaire. All those who participated in the course in 2005 and 2006 were sampled. A response rate of 85% was recorded. Overall, an increase in practitioner confidence in periodontal diagnosis and periodontal treatment was reported and with many respondents indicated changes in their clinical practice had occurred. However, the reported changes recorded were not universal to all participants. Further research is required to determine how best to structure a dental CPD course.