Patients' experience of pain and discomfort during instrumentation in the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of periodontitis.

Background: The present multicenter study aimed to survey the patients' experiences in relation to the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of periodontitis according to current treatment routine.

Methods: Patients (N = 268) treated for plaque-related periodontitis were enrolled in two groups: group 1 received primary probing of pocket depths (PD 1) and/or primary scaling and root planing (SRP 1); group 2 consisted of patients who were scheduled in the different centers for recall PD/scaling/subgingival instrumentation. Data collection included a full periodontal status, anesthesia employed, procedure time, and patient self-completed questionnaires to assess their previous and current experience of pain and discomfort during anesthesia and periodontal treatment.

Rating of statements in an internal course evaluation: comparison between different groups of assessors.

The increased concern for accountability and quality improvement is inducing universities throughout Europe to evaluate and control performance. The establishment of criteria for educational quality, a requirement for a successful evaluation, was studied as part of an evaluation of the dental education programme at the Catholic University of Leuven. Criteria suggested by different groups (members of the internal evaluation commission including graduate and postgraduate students; members of the academic staff of the School of Dentistry, Oral Pathology and Maxillo-facial Surgery, and other members of the academic staff, not directly belonging to the school), were analysed by means of ANOVA with Scheffé posthoc tests to identify intergroup differences.