The Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) (FGDP(UK)) has published the second edition of its Standards in Dentistry, its flagship publication for general dental practitioners and their teams, which acts as a guide to personal or practice-based quality assessment.
Developed to be a comprehensive compendium of guidance and standards relevant to primary dental care, it establishes specific standards covering consultation and diagnosis, pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, acute pain management, 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 publication also summarizes almost 70 standards and guidelines publications by the FGDP(UK) and 30 other organizations, encompassing emergency dental care, examination and record keeping, infection prevention and control, medical emergencies, medication management, oral health, pathology, patient information, practice management, prevention, radiology, restorative dentistry, risk management and communication, sedation, special care dentistry, and staff training.
The development of the second edition was carried out by David Moles, PhD, BDS, MSc, MSc(hons), and his colleagues at the Peninsula Dental School, Ewen McColl, BDS, Christopher Tredwin, BDS, MSc, PhD, Robert Witton, BDS, MSc, and Lorna Burns, MSc. Its publication follows consultation with a wide range of national dental organizations. Moles and his team revised and updated Standards in Dentistry to reflect the contemporary clinical, organizational, and dento-legal contexts in which dentistry is practices as well as changes in the evidence base since the first edition was published in 2006.
“The team at Peninsula Dental School are honored to have been offered the opportunity by the FGDP to undertake a comprehensive update of the standards. We would like to thank all the individuals and organizations that have generously given their time and expertise to comment on the drafts of the second edition. In some cases we had to resolve strongly held but contradictory views held by peer reviewers,” said Moles.
“This is an indication of the extent to which members of our profession care passionately about the standards of care we all endeavor 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,” said Moles.
The standards in the second edition focus on practitioner processes rather than treatment outcomes, and descriptions of the “unacceptable” have been eliminated. Also, the book adopts the FGDP’s aspirational, basic, conditional or ABC notation for grading recommendations. Standards for making and receiving referrals and for oral medicine are included for the first time as well. Plus, the book includes a section on keeping up to date with changing guidelines and standards over time.
The FGDP(UK) is distributing copies to all of its members. New members who join this year will receive a copy with their welcome pack. Non-members may purchase Standards in Dentistry for £44.99 at the online shop.
“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,” said Ian Mills, BDS, dean of FGDP(UK).
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