Dr. Arun Sharma, left, examines patient Lois Martin for a video shoot for the American College of Prosthodontists.
By Terri Hunter-Davis
Did you happen to spy a video crew this week, roaming the halls and clinics of UCSF Dental Center? Don’t worry — it wasn’t a local reporter recording people behaving badly.
A media team from the American College of Prosthodontists was on campus Sept. 6-7 taping patients, residents and faculty providers for a series of videos highlighting clinical practice guidelines, issued at the end of 2015, that help patients and practitioners keep restorations sound.
One of the faculty prosthodontists, Donald Curtis, DMD, FACP, was instrumental in formulating and testing the new guidelines.
"Although clinical practice guidelines are often used in medicine, they have not been used as much in dentistry,” Dr. Curtis said when the guidelines were first released. “Adding a clinical practice guideline on this important topic will establish a baseline and help to standardize care."
Dr. Curtis joined Arun Sharma, BDS, MSc, and some of their patients before the cameras, both in clinical settings and one-on-one interviews. Chi Neylon, one of Dr. Sharma’s patients, has had extensive — and expensive — restorations done over a number of years.
“I could have had a Cadillac,” she chuckled, “but this has given me back my life.”
Neylon and other patients shared, on camera, some of the simple but important home steps for keeping their dental work in optimal condition: twice-daily brushing with high-fluoride toothpaste, soaking removable bridges as directed, daily flossing, rinsing with a recommended mouthwash, and wearing a night guard per one’s prosthodontist’s directions. These, according to the guidelines, are key to avoiding “do-it-again dentistry.”
Related links:
- New Guidelines Set Standard for Restoration Care
- GoToAPro.org (patient and consumer information)
- Prosthodontics.org (information for oral health professionals)