Primary Dental Care (Research)

Contents

Research examples
Examples of research work in this area include:

* The establishment and activation of prep panels of qualified dentists to determine the clinical performance of new materials within a real world environment of high street dental practices (Professor Trevor Burke). The PDC Group also undertook an evaluation of NHS Personal Dental Services pilots, testing new remuneration systems for general dental practitioners (Dr Kirsty Hill, Professor Trevor Burke).
* Surveys of regional dental practitioners views of pre-cancerous lesions leading to the establishment of rapid access clinics in oral medicine, with clearly defined care pathways involving regional oral cancer centres. More recently, similar surveys of barriers to periodontal care in general dental practice have identified key issues in NHS delivery of periodontal care, which will inform changes taking place under the new dental contract (Dr Deborah White, Mr John Hamburger, Professor Iain Chapple).
* Studies into novel uses of dental magnets to retain removable dentures have improved patients’ quality of life and conventional tooth replacement methods in dental practice (Professor Damien Walmsley).
* Forming close links with the Dental Practice Board to provide access to a huge national database of NHS dental procedures across Britain and to enable clear trends in patient management and dental practice to be explored in ways not previously possible. An example is the identification of which filling materials last the longest in patients' mouths (Professor Trevor Burke).
* Pioneering involvement in the National Dental Health Surveys (Office of National Statistics) for children and adults leading to the unravelling of major trends in oral disease patterns over 30 years. This is crucial to informing future oral health care policy and directing NHS resources to those in most need. Regional surveys also help inform and direct regional policies and portfolios of oral care delivery (Dr Deborah White, Dr Kirsty Hill).
* Prevalence studies in children and adolescents on dental erosion and tooth wear and their causes have been underpinned by laboratory mechanistic studies on both erosion and toothpaste abrasivity (Dr Deborah White, Professor Tony Smith).
* Research on the design and use of orthodontic devices is providing valuable information on their clinical performance (Dophatkar), and recently the effects of orthodontic forces on the dental tissues have been modelled in a novel tooth slice culture system ( Professor Tony Smith, Dr Paul Cooper).
* Research on the nature and role of education in dentistry is being undertaken (Dr White and Professor Walmsley). Areas include the uptake of knowledge by general dental practitioners, the development and testing of a novel undergraduate e-learning environment and its impact (Giles Perryer, Professor Damien Walmsley,Kirsty Hill).