Clinical Periodontology for General Dentists and Dental Hygienists

Course overview

The course is designed to discuss the contemporary aspects of clinical periodontology for general dentists and dental hygienists. Starting from the patient's medical history and how important is to understand when to move forward with the data collection and in which circumstances to give a medical consultation. The rationale behind a medical consultation is to communicate to the primary care physician and/or the specialist doctor, our concerns/recommendations or request for adjustment of medications. Systemic diseases and specific medications which may lead to a medical consultation request will be addressed. As far as the collection of periodontal data, the importance of a correct periodontal charting will be emphasized since with the use of the new classification system, interproximal clinical attachment loss (CAL) is a predisposing factor to correctly diagnose our patients. Finalizing the periodontal data collection, the need for full mouth x-rays and generally the use of radiographs in periodontology, will be discussed. Subsequently, several exercises on site will be performed so all participants will understand the etiological factors, the proper diagnosis and rationale behind the new classification system involving the staging and grading of chronic periodontitis. Determination of periodontal prognosis is essential before the treatment plan is finalized and accepted from the patient. Therefore, the factors involved in this process along with the different prognostic classification systems will be reviewed. Since the risk of developing periodontal disease is different from patient to patient, all the factors, indicators and predictors will be analyzed. All the aforementioned stages will lead to the rationale of periodontal treatment which will be presented through a complete and tailored treatment plan to cover the specific needs of our patients. The second and third parts of the course will discuss the secrets behind the successful treatment of periodontal disease. Starting from the proper oral hygiene instructions, the increase of patients' compliance, the non-surgical and surgical treatments will be explored. As far as the non-surgical treatment is concerned, all the different approaches using either hand instruments or piezo/cavitron will be demonstrated with the use of videos showing the proper adaptation and angulation of the instruments. Following the completion of the first phase of treatment (non-surgical), the determination if the patient will benefit from a surgical approach to accomplish the goal of periodontal therapy, which is the pocket depth reduction will be evaluated, either having a resective approach such as an osseous surgery or regenerative such as guided tissue regeneration. The participants will comprehend all the factors which will help them take the right decision with several exercises and clinical cases. Finally, advanced surgical techniques will be demonstrated in order to treat patients who are periodontally stable and would like to move forward with other needs, such as guided bone regeneration or extraction and ridge preservation, to place implants and restore partially edentulous areas.