Recently, I was selected to attend the 2010 Evidence-Based Dentistry conference in Chicago. It was sponsored by Proctor & Gamble and the American Dental Association. Having used general research methods for years as an educator, I read with interest the information on the ADA Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry website in preparation for the conference.

    Upon arrival, the 90 conference attendees, including myself, were provided a hands-on introduction to the EBD website and various tools of research; this included how to create Population Intervention Comparison Outcome (PICO) questions, search for key terms, as well as locate pertinent systematic reviews and clinical recommendations.

    Evidence-based dentistry (EBD) is an approach to oral healthcare that requires the judicious integration of systematic assessments of clinically relevant scientific evidence, relating to the patient's oral and medical condition and history, with the oral health professional's clinical expertise and the patient's treatment needs and preferences.

    By saying “relating to the patient’s oral and medical condition and history”, this definition takes a patient-centered approach to treatment decisions. It is important to understand that EBD is an approach to practice, an approach to making clinical decisions, and is just one component used to arrive at the best treatment decision.  EBD is about providing personalized dental care based on the most current scientific knowledge (http://ebd.ada.org 2010).

    Participating in this conference increased my abilities to provide authoritative, peer-reviewed information to colleagues, students, and the community. I plan to incorporate and expand the use of evidence-based practice mechanisms as a tool to be used by professionals and consumers to gain the most reliable information available on a wide variety of topics.

Click here for the ADA page describing the conference I attended.