A team from the University of Plymouth Peninsula Dental School has written the second edition of Standards in Dentistry – a flagship publication of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP(UK)).
Led by Professor David Moles, Director of Postgraduate Education and Research, the fully revised and updated book reflects the contemporary clinical, organisational and dento-legal contexts in which dentistry is practised, as well as changes in the evidence base since the first edition was published in 2006.
A comprehensive compendium of guidance and standards relevant to primary dental care, the publication sets out specific standards covering consultation and diagnosis, paediatric dentistry, orthodontics, management of acute pain, periodontics, endodontics, removable partial dentures, complete dentures, minor oral surgery, implant dentistry, management of dental trauma, direct, coronal and root surface restorations and indirect coronal restorations.
The standards in the new edition are focussed on practitioner processes rather than treatment outcomes, while standards for making and receiving referrals, and for oral medicine, are also included for the first time.
Professor Moles worked alongside Ewen McColl, Clinical Associate Professor in Restorative Dentistry; Professor Christopher Tredwin, Head of Peninsula Dental School; Robert Witton, Director of Social Engagement and Community-Based Dentistry; and Lorna Burns, Lecturer in Evidence-Based Healthcare, to compile the book, and its publication follows consultation with a wide range of national dental organisations.
Celebrating the publication of the new edition, Ian Mills, Dean of FGDP(UK) and Fellow at Peninsula Dental School, said:
“The Faculty’s core function is to raise the standards of care delivered to patients, and the provision of guidance and standards by dentists, for dentists, is central to this. On behalf of the FGDP(UK), I would like to thank David Moles and his colleagues for their tireless dedication in compiling the second edition of Standards in Dentistry. It is an indispensable reference guide which will assist the whole dental team in identifying appropriate standards for the delivery of high quality care.”
Professor Moles said:
“The team at Peninsula Dental School are honoured to have been offered the opportunity by the FGDP to undertake a comprehensive update of the standards in light of changes in the evidence base and in the clinical organisational and the dental-legal context in which dentistry is now practised. We would like to thank all the individuals and organisations that have generously given their time and expertise to comment on the drafts of the second edition.
“In some cases we have had to resolve strongly-held but contradictory views held by peer-reviewers. This is an indication of the extent to which members of our profession care passionately about the standards of care we all endeavour to provide and it also illustrates the subjective nature of clinical practice. Whilst the evidence base for primary care dentistry is constantly improving, it is clear that much remains almost as much an art as a science. Often there is not a single best way of providing care and this publication is just one of several reasonable approaches to the provision of primary dental care.”
