The development of dental services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to grow rapidly. The growth includes dramatic increase in the number of dentists practicing in hospital and general practice clinics.  In order to keep the quality of these rapidly developing dental services at a superior level, consistent with the latest technological innovations in dentistry, it becomes important to sustain increased contact among dental clinicians, dental scientist and the manufacturers of modern equipment.

The role of the dentist has changed from that of an isolated practitioner of essentially rehabilitative clinical services to that of an integrated member of a health team concerned with and addressing preventive and diagnostic services as well as curative services.  This enhanced role of the dental practitioner means that his productivity should be improved.  To achieve this, there is the need to update the dentist knowledge with the latest information and improve his skills using the latest technological innovations.  In addition, the ethics of the profession, a high sense of professional responsibility and concern for public health and the well-being of the community should also be considered. The dental practitioner must constantly keep abreast of new governmental health care related agencies and new regulations which affect dental practice.

Some of the ways that the dental practitioner can achieve these expectations are attending accredited continuing educational programs, dental conferences and meetings, seminars, lectures and hands-on workshops in various branches of dentistry. At these educational programs, the practitioners should share and exchange ideas with his colleagues on currently available dental facilities and treatment modalities.  Other self-improvement facilities open to the dental practitioner are professional journals and internet learning resources. 

A group practice is more likely to improve the dental practitioner professional performance than solo practice.  The reason is obvious.  The availability of several dental practitioners with different skills gathered under one roof in a group practice makes consultation quick and easy. Daily contacts among group practice dentists, some of whom will be specialists, serve as an informal peer review system which should improve the knowledge and perspective of each practitioner.  If these recommendations could be achieved, the quality and productivity of the general dental practitioner will surely improve.