Tag: Standards & Guidance

An updated and expanded version of the College’s research guidance is now available in print and as an e-book.

The original guidance, An introduction to research for primary dental care clinicians, is a series of nine papers, first published in 2010 in Primary Dental Care, the predecessor publication to the Primary Dental Journal. These introduce readers to the basic principles of research methodology, discuss the relevance of research to primary dental care, and provide an overview of the different stages in a research project, from asking a research question to finally writing up and disseminating the results. This is available on the College website, and is free of charge to all users (non-members will need to register for a free account for the College website if they do not already have one). Members are also able to access the papers in their original format via the PDJ Archive.

The guidance has now been updated with the publication of An Introduction to Clinical Research for Health and Social Care Professionals, which is edited by Ario Santini FCGDent and Professor Kenneth A Eaton FCGDent and includes contributions from Professor Igor Blum FCGDent, Roger Farbey MBE, Mark-Steven Howe FCGDent, Nicola R Palmer, Debbie Reed Assoc.FCGDent, Derek Richards FFGDP(UK)(Hon), Jeanie Suvan and Laura Wiles.

Expanded to over 300 pages, the new publication is made up of 18 chapters and three appendices:

• The need for practice-based research
• Evidence-based practice and critical appraisal of literature
• Asking a research question and literature searching
• Designing studies part 1: introduction and quantitative study design
• Designing studies part 2: randomised controlled trials
• Designing studies part 3: qualitative study design
• Designing studies part 4: systematic reviews
• Designing studies part 5: sampling
• Designing studies part 6: questionnaires
• Designing studies part 7: screening and diagnostic testing
• Designing studies part 8: prognosis, diagnosis, risk and prognostic study methods
• Writing a protocol
• Research ethics and obtaining ethics approval
• Obtaining funding
• Piloting the methods and project management
• Collecting and collating data
• Analysing data
• Writing up and disseminating the results
• Guidelines and checklists
• Glossary of terms with explanatory notes
• Apprenticeship scheme further details

It is available to purchase in print or as an e-book (ISBN: 978-1-6655-9751-7), and an abridged online version will be made available by the College in due course.

This article was updated in April 2023 following the publication of a review of An Introduction to Clinical Research for Health and Social Care Professionals in the Primary Dental Journal, vol. 12, no. 1. This is available for College members and PDJ subscribers to view in the PDJ Archive.

The College of General Dentistry has published new guidelines on mentoring in implant dentistry.

Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines describes the nature of mentoring which should be undertaken in order to safely carry out implant dentistry following completion of an appropriate training course, including:

• the experience, skills and qualities expected of a mentor
• the experience, skills and qualities expected of a mentee
• the mentoring process
• the mentoring agreement

Providing practical help to mentors and mentees, it also sets out the component parts of three recommended means of work-based assessment during the mentoring process: Case-Based Discussion, Direct Observation of Procedural Skills and Clinical Evaluation Exercise.

Designed to support educators and students, and to promote patient safety, the new document complements Training Standards in Implant Dentistry. Developed by the former Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP) and now published by the College, this has defined the accepted standards of training in implant dentistry in the UK since 2005, and includes a requirement to have an experienced clinician acting as a mentor. However, this requirement has not previously been expounded upon, and the publication of Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines seeks to address this.

The College of General Dentistry – intended Royal College – is the independent professional body into which the FGDP transferred upon its separation from the Royal College of Surgeons of England last year. Building on the legacy of the Faculty, it is the UK’s only medical college run by and for oral health professionals, and is unique in welcoming all dental and oral health professionals with relevant postgraduate qualifications into full membership.

The new guidelines are the result of a collaboration between the College and the Association of Dental Implantology, and were developed by a joint working group. Their publication follows consultation with over 30 organisations and individuals with interests and expertise in the field, and they have been endorsed by the Association of British Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the British Association of Oral Surgeons, the Foundation for Oral Rehabilitation, and the UK and Ireland sections of the International Team for Implantology and the Platform for Exchange of Experience, Research and Science.

The document is the College’s first new standards publication since its formal launch last year, and is available to view online free of charge, alongside its COVID-19 guidance and all of the guidance and standards documents of the former FGDP.

College members can also download the publication for personal use, and have access to search, text-select and print functionality. Membership is available from £94 per year for dentists, and from £33 for all other dental professionals.

Dr Abhi Pal, President of the College of General Dentistry and Co-Editor of the new guidelines, said:

“The publication of Mentoring in Implant Dentistry befits our mission to empower dental professionals to deliver high standards of care, and I am delighted that the College is building on the legacy of the FGDP in supporting practitioners to develop their clinical skills in this significant and evolving field of practice. The guidelines will act as an important adjunct to Training Standards in Implant Dentistry, and I would like to express my thanks to all those involved in their development.”

Click here to view Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines

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