Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 59, Issue 5, September–October 2014, Pages e129-e130
Dental Abstracts

Research becoming clinical practice

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2013.12.016Get rights and content

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Background

New materials to manage dental caries are being developed in light of the phasing out of amalgam, but the process of incorporating these materials into dental practice is not without challenges. Four aspects of the problem were discussed, specifically, accelerating the process of moving from research to regulatory approval, understanding the challenges related to intellectual property and regulatory requirements, considering how to incorporate new approaches into dental education, and

Research-to-Approval Process

Evaluating ways to accelerate the approval process raises four questions:

  • 1.

    Who should be contacted for materials development?

  • 2.

    What collaborative activities can facilitate product approval?

  • 3.

    How can symposia and workshops help?

  • 4.

    What environmental concerns must be considered?

In answering these questions, it is necessary to balance the core obligations of the various regulatory bodies involved, which are to guard patient safety, with the need to minimize the time and cost for beneficial innovations to

Intellectual Property and Regulatory Issues

The effects of current regulatory processes worldwide on the development and marketing of new dental materials were evaluated. Possible cooperative efforts between manufacturers and academia were assessed, as well as the challenges, inconsistencies, and enforcement requirements for a global patent system. Current arrangements could be improved by promoting up-to-date information exchange between researchers and health authorities on a local as well as an international level. Intensified

Dental Education

All new dental school graduates should be competent critical thinkers, which means that dental educators need to teach them to think. Dentists' critical thinking skills will enable them to use knowledge and evidence to decide which materials to use and which not to use in delivering oral health care. Students must also be open to changing how they will practice in the future and not simply continue to do what they learned in school. Faculty need to alter their teaching approaches to teach

Incorporation into Practice

Dental practitioners fall into various professional and behavioral types, such as “young blood” dentists, “workers,” and “end gamers.” Each presents challenges in incorporating new materials and techniques into current practices. General dentists need to have access to timely, authoritative information. They then need to employ critical assessment skills. Short, independent guidance overviews can be a powerful tool in evaluating new knowledge. Essential aspects of using these resources are that

Future Directions

Vision 2020 outlines five areas of priority in developing a new direction for dentistry. These are (1) meeting the increasing need and demand for oral health care, (2) expanding the role of oral health care professionals, (3) shaping a responsive educational model, (4) mitigating the influences of socioeconomic dynamics, and (5) fostering fundamental and translational research and technology.

Clinical Significance

To incorporate new materials and techniques into clinical dental practice, it is

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Pitts NB, Drummond J, Guggenberger R, et al: Incorporating new materials and techniques into clinical practice. Adv Dent Res 25:33-40, 2013

Reprints available from NB Pitts, Dental Innovation and Translation Ctr, King's College London Dental Inst, Floor 18, Tower Wing, Guy's Hosp, London SE1 9RT, UK; e-mail: [email protected]

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