ADA News

Since receiving a grant from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research, the ADA Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry has held three ADA Evidence-Based Reviewers workshops across the country.

The workshops, in support of Grant Number G08 LM008956 from NLM and NIDCR, took place Nov. 19-20, 2009, at the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry; Jan. 13-14 at the Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University; and March 15-16 at New York University College of Dentistry.

As a result, some 60 participants learned how to critically appraise systematic reviews and in turn, write critical summaries of those reviews. They also committed to writing 10 critical summaries for future posting on the EBD website.

At NYU, Dean Charles Bertolami praised the program for assisting in his school's mission.

"NYU College of Dentistry has committed itself to an evidence-based curriculum, which focuses on using the best available evidence, combined with clinical expertise and patient preferences, to inform clinical decision-making," he said. "The recent workshop has advanced this initiative by strengthening participants' ability to search for, read and interpret clinical practice guidelines, as well as individual research studies and systematic reviews summarizing findings from multiple clinical studies, with a view to learning how to translate those findings into clinical practice," concluded Dr. Bertolami.

Said Dr. Amid Ismail, dean of the Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry, "Our mission is to educate dentists with advanced clinical skills and knowledge who provide patient-centered care using evidence-based clinical protocols. The workshop not only provided faculty with access to a repository of current research on all facets of general and specialty dentistry, but also with a new philosophy of teaching for dental students and postdoctoral residents."

For more information about EBD, visit http://ebd.ada.org.