Treatment distributions in dental practice

Abstract

Dental educators have been urged to evaluate curricula using information from dental practice. This paper presents data from a variety of sources that describe the distribution of treatment effort in dental practice. The data indicate that most dental treatment consists of a narrow range of procedures, that the focus of dentists' treatment efforts is primarily reparative, and that practitioners may not be achieving the broad curriculum objective of providing needed comprehensive patient care. Considerations for curriculum evaluators are suggested, and implications for the future are discussed.