1997-3-Editorial - Saudi Dental Journal

ISSN (Print) 1013-9052
EISSN 1658-3558

The Saudi Dental Journal,
P.O. Box 52500,
Riyadh 11563,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Tel.	966-1-467-7328
Fax.	933-1-467-7308 / 966-1-467-7534
Email	saudidj@ksu.edu.sa

Editorial

Continuing Education: A constituent to clinical specialty practice

In this era, overnight changes on our treat- ment modalities take place subservient to the plethora of advanced technology in dental equip- ment and materials. Evidently, in order for us to cope with these changes, more lecture presenta- tions, seminars and continuing education programs should be developed to augment our basic specialty practice.

There are tens of symposia, seminars and conferences held in Saudi Arabia and several Arab countries but they deviate from the essence of a scientific program mainly for the current develop- ment in implant restorative system, bone grafting, laser technology, different esthetic restorations and several treatment modalities for various oral condi- tions and its surrounding tissues. With all respect to and the encouragement of these scientific activi- ties, it should be emphasized that considerable attention is necessary for the general practitioners and specialist clinicians to be aware of these advanced technology and its clinical application to the fundamentals of our respective preventive oral management practice.

In several dental conferences and symposia that I had attended, certain clinical procedures in implantology have been presented where the stan- dard preventive measures in clinical practice is ignored. For example, one clinician presented four years of clinical follow-up for implant case at the upper left side of the oral cavity where there was carious teeth at the premolar and molar of the upper right side. However, there was no treatment done for those simple restorative cases during the past four years. One side of the mouth was followed-up 3-4 years for which treatment of the adjacent carious tooth or teeth on the other side had been neglected. This finding can not be justified at the expense of implant service.

In some scientific presentations, cases of com- plete mouth rehabilitation had been presented with- out the basic periodontal treatment of the teeth which would eventually lead to expensive prosthe- sis treatment. In several Endodontic presentations, some cases of excellent technical root canal therapy treatment performed in severely curved canals of molar teeth was presented but the endodontist had ignored complete removal of caries at the coronal part. Another example of such anomalous situation for the basic preventive measures is a case where subgingival placement of the porcelain and veneer has been done at the anterior teeth without particu- lar concern to the health of the gum.

It is necessary and mandatory that attention should be given to the simple and basic preventive treatment in our daily practice. An excellent oral and dental health delivery system, coupled with our virtuous and dedicated clinical service, is a must for our patients.

Abdullah R. Al-Shammery, BDS, MS
Editor-in-Chief