[Comparison of undergraduate and continuing education in periodontology at Swiss universities at the turn of the century].

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the professional knowledge in periodontology of the dentists, a subject which has been taught officially since 1972 as an independent area, to determine the self-assessed level of competence and to elaborate on the needs for continuing education in periodontology. The present evaluation used questionnaires sent to all members of the Swiss Society of Odontology SSO in the summer of 2000. One third of the questionnaires were returned.