Preparing students to practice evidence-based dentistry: a mixed methods conceptual framework for curriculum enhancement.

This article describes a mixed methods conceptual framework for evidence-based dentistry to enhance the curriculum at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry. A focus of recent curriculum reform has been to prepare students to integrate evidence-based dentistry into clinical practice. The authors developed a framework consisting of four conceptual phases to introduce curriculum innovation: 1) exploration of the phenomenon; 2) development of two new instruments; 3) data collection, analysis, outcomes, and evaluation; and 4) application to curricular reform.

Continued competency in the specialties and academics.

The competency approach to education requires demonstration of a set of knowledge, skills, and values appropriate to the current practice situation. The Commission on Dental Accreditation requires that dental educational programs provide evidence that predoctoral programs, postgraduate dental education, dental hygiene, and specialty programs provide evidence that their programs make it possible for candidates to achieve competence, assess competence and provide remediation, and deny degrees or certificates to those who do not possess competence. All nine specialty programs recognized by the American Dental Association require additional periodic assessment for continued competence.

Efficacy of platelet-rich plasma on wound healing in rabbits.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate if the healing of full-thickness skin wounds was accelerated by platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Methods: Four 2.5 x 2.

Efficacy of controlled-release subgingival chlorhexidine to enhance periodontal regeneration.

Background: Periodontal regeneration success may be limited by placing bone grafts and membranes in infected sites. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that adjunctive subgingival administration of chlorhexidine gelatin bioresorbable chips enhances bone gain when used in conjunction with guided tissue regeneration.

Methods: This was a single center, blinded, 2-arm parallel design study of 44 subjects with one or more sites with probing depth and clinical attachment loss > or = 5 mm following initial therapy and radiographic evidence of bone loss.

Use of a biodegradable chlorhexidine chip in the treatment of adult periodontitis: clinical and radiographic findings.

Background: Previous multi-center trials demonstrated the efficacy of a biodegradable chlorhexidine-gelatin chip (CHX) in reducing probing depth in patients with periodontitis. The present study utilized a subset of subjects from the parent study to determine if the CHX chip was effective in maintaining alveolar bone over a 9-month period.

Methods: Forty-five subjects with at least four 5 to 8 mm pockets, stratified by smoking status, were enrolled in this double-blind controlled, placebo-controlled trial.

Adjunctive use of a subgingival controlled-release chlorhexidine chip reduces probing depth and improves attachment level compared with scaling and root planing alone.

The present studies evaluated the efficacy of a controlled-release biodegradable chlorhexidine (CHX) (2.5 mg) chip when used as an adjunct to scaling and root planing on reducing probing depth (PD) and improving clinical attachment level (CAL) in adult periodontitis. Two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled multi-center clinical trials (5 centers each) were conducted; pooled data are reported from all 10 centers (447 patients).

A comparison of manual and controlled-force attachment-level measurements.

This study compared the intra-examiner and inter-examiner error of 2 constant force probes to the reading of a conventional manual probe. 3 examiners made repeated examinations of attachment level using a modified Florida probe and a manual North Carolina probe (read to 1 mm or 0.5 mm); relative attachment level measurements were made using a Florida disk probe.

Efficacy of meclofenamate sodium (Meclomen) in the treatment of rapidly progressive periodontitis.

This 6-month, double-blind, controlled clinical trial determined the efficacy of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, meclofenamate sodium (Meclomen), as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in the treatment of rapidly progressive periodontitis (RPP). 22 subjects (7 male, 15 female) aged 36.5 +/- 7.

Elastase as an indicator of periodontal disease progression.

THIS STUDY SOUGHT TO EVALUATE the ability of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) elastase to predict attachment and bone loss in human periodontitis. Thirty subjects who were medically healthy and had a history of progressive periodontitis were studied with an automated probe. Five sites in each patient were monitored bi-monthly for a 6-month period for attachment loss.

Use of digital radiography to demonstrate the potential of naproxen as an adjunct in the treatment of rapidly progressive periodontitis.

The effect of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, naproxen, in reducing periodontal disease activity was assessed in 15 patients with rapidly progressive periodontitis. All patients in this double-blind study were treated with scaling and root planing. Thereafter, 7 patients receiving 500 mg naproxen b.

The use of repeated measures analysis of variance for plaque and gingival indices.

Clinical trials for anti-gingivitis and anti-plaque agents commonly use the mean of Silness and Löe plaque indices and Löe and Silness gingival indices as response variables. The aim of this report is to determine if data from anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis clinical trials using Silness and Löe plaque indices and Löe and Silness gingival indices satisfy conditions necessary for the use of the univariate or multivariate approach to repeated measures. These conditions are multivariate normality, homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices, and for the univariate approach, a type-H variance-covariance matrix.

Rapidly progressive periodontitis. Report of a case.

A nineteen year old white female was referred for an evaluation of severe, rapidly progressive periodontitis. Although the patient was physically healthy and did not demonstrate any remarkable abnormalities in routine laboratory tests or upon physical examination, a detailed immune profile elucidated abnormal findings. Additionally, the patient demonstrated a poor healing response after tooth removal and a continued loss of bone following insertion of dentures.

A longitudinal evaluation of varying widths of attached gingiva.

32 patients with bilateral areas of inadequate attached gingiva on the facial surface of homologous contralateral teeth have been followed for 6 years. Treatment consisted of scaling, root planing, oral hygiene and maintenance at 3- to 6-month intervals or as needed to control inflammation. A free gingival graft was placed on one side (experimental), while the other side served as the unoperated control.

A clinical trial of phenoxymethyl penicillin for adjunctive treatment of juvenile periodontitis.

A double-blind clinical trial of oral penicillin as an adjunct to conventional treatment of localized juvenile periodontitis (JP) was conducted. Sixteen subjects with JP were paired on the basis of general similarity of disease, and within each pair the persons were assigned randomly, one to a placebo group and one to a penicillin group. Neither patients nor therapist/examiner were aware of whether placebo or penicillin was being taken.