Why Choose The Certificate in Minor Oral Surgery?
Course Director Paul McHenry explains...
In my own experience…..
- as an oral surgery specialist, general dentists should be provided with sufficient training to allow them to confidently complete minor oral surgery procedures in practice.
- as an examiner and tutor on the Diploma in Implant dentistry course, a number of candidates are not confident in soft and hard tissue management including extractions and surgical removal of roots.
- the opportunity for postgraduate oral surgery training is limited and hopefully this course will fulfil the demands of such training whilst allowing the busy general practitioner to continue working.
Research would suggest the level of undergraduate experience of core clinical skills in Oral surgery could be enhanced. In particular, competence in surgical extractions may be difficult to achieve for a variety of reasons but mainly due to lack of undergraduate exposure. (1)
A national survey in oral surgery undergraduate teaching and experience in the UK (2), gives some insight into the levels of undergraduate experience in exodontia and surgical extractions. 13 out of 15 UK and Ireland dental schools returned a completed questionnaire. The results showed that on average 51 extractions were completed over 3 clinical years with a 1:5 staff /student supervision ratio. However, for the 9 schools with data on surgical extractions, the average number of surgical extractions was 6.
This would appear to be very limited and certainly the confidence that one gains from experience is thus a postgraduate objective.
However, many graduates do not feel that they have sufficient practical experience in minor surgical procedures to complete them in practice.
Surgical extraction of teeth has been identified as one of the areas that vocational dental practitioners and their trainers feel least prepared for by their undergraduate training (3)
The resultant effect is that often minor oral surgery cases are referred to secondary care facilities thus draining valuable recourses that perhaps could have been treated in the primary care sector.
(1) Durham JA, Moore UJ, Corbett IP, Thompson PJ. Assessing competency in dentoalveolar surgery: a 3-year study of cumulative experience in the undergraduate curriculum. Eur J Dent Educ 2007:11:200-207.
(2) Macluskey M, Durham J. Oral surgery undergraduate teaching and experience in the united Kingdom: a national survey.Eur J Dent Educ 13(2009) 52-57
(3) Patel J, Fox K, Grieveson B,Youngson CC. Undergraduate training as preparation for vocational training in England: a survey of vocational dental practitioners’ and their trainers’ views.Br Dent J 2006: 201 (Suppl.): 9-15