COMPETENCIES FOR A
BEGINNING DENTAL PRACTIONER IN CANADA
A competent beginning
dental practitioner in Canada must be able to provide oral health
care for the benefit of individual patients and communities in
a culturally sensitive manner.
Competency assumes that all behaviours are supported by foundation
knowledge and skills in biomedical, behavioural and clinical dental
science and by professional behaviour. Beginning dental practitioners
in Canada must be able to apply foundation knowledge and skills
to justify their decisions and actions and to evaluate outcomes.
Therefore, foundation knowledge, skills and professional behaviour
are understood to be a part of every competency.
Competency also assumes that all behaviours are performed to an
acceptable level and that the practitioner can evaluate their
quality and effectiveness. Competency cannot be achieved without
the ability to self-evaluate. Moreover, there are no degrees of
competence: a dentist is either competent or not competent. The
competencies below refer to general dental practice and include
the management of patients of all ages including those with special
needs. It is assumed that all oral health care is provided in
an ethical manner, in accordance with legal requirements at the
national and provincial level.
Competencies
for Beginning Dental Practitioners in Canada
A beginning dental practitioner
in Canada must be competent to:
- recognize the determinants of oral health in individuals
and populations and the role of dentists in health promotion,
including the disadvantaged.
- recognize the relationship between general health and oral
health.
- evaluate the scientific literature and justify management
recommendations based on the level of evidence available.
- communicate effectively with patients, parents or guardians,
staff, peers, other health professionals and the public.
- identify the patient’s chief complaint/concern and obtain
the associated history.
- obtain and interpret a medical, dental and psychosocial history,
including a review of systems as necessary, and evaluate physical
or psychosocial conditions that may affect dental management.
- maintain accurate and complete patient records in a confidential
manner.
- prevent the transmission of infectious diseases by following
current infection control guidelines.
- perform a clinical examination.
- differentiate between normal and abnormal hard and soft tissues
of the maxillofacial complex.
- prescribe and obtain the required diagnostic tests, considering
their risks and benefits.
- perform a radiographic examination.
- interpret the findings from a patient's history, clinical
examination, radiographic examination and from other diagnostic
tests and procedures.
- recognize and manage the anxious or fearful dental patient.
- recognize signs of abuse and/or neglect and make appropriate
reports.
- assess patient risk (including, but not limited to, diet and
tobacco use) for oral disease or injuries.
- develop a problem list and establish diagnoses.
- determine the level of expertise required for treatment and
formulate a written request for consultation and/or referral
when appropriate.
- develop treatment options based on the evaluation of all relevant
data.
- discuss the findings, diagnoses, etiology, risks, benefits
and prognoses of the treatment options, with a view to patient
participation in oral health management.
- develop an appropriate comprehensive, prioritized and sequenced
treatment plan.
- present and discuss the sequence of treatment, estimated fees,
payment arrangements, time requirements and the patient’s
responsibilities for treatment.
- obtain informed consent including the patient’s written
acceptance of the treatment plan and any modifications.
- modify the treatment plan as required during the course of
treatment.
- provide education regarding the risks and prevention of oral
disease and injury to encourage the adoption of healthy behaviors.
- provide therapies for the prevention of oral disease and injury.
- recognize and institute procedures to minimize occupational
hazards related to the practice of dentistry.
- achieve local anesthesia for dental procedures and manage
related complications.
- determine the indications and contraindications for the use
of drugs used in dental practice, their dosages and routes of
administration and write prescriptions for drugs used in dentistry.
- manage dental emergencies.
- recognize and manage systemic emergencies which may occur
in dental practice.
- manage conditions and diseases of the periodontium, provide
periodontal treatment when indicated and monitor treatment outcomes.
- assess the risk, extent and activity of caries and recommend
appropriate non-surgical and surgical therapy.
- manage dental caries, tooth defects and esthetic problems
and, when restoration is warranted, use techniques that conserve
tooth structure and preserve pulp vitality to restore form and
function.
- manage patients with orofacial pain and/or dysfunction.
- manage surgical procedures related to oral soft and hard tissues
and their complications
- manage trauma to the orofacial complex.
- manage conditions and pathology of the pulp and provide endodontic
treatment when indicated.
- manage abnormalities of orofacial growth and development and
treat minor orthodontic problems.
- recognize and manage functional and non-functional occlusion.
- select and, where indicated, prescribe appropriate biomaterials
for patient treatment.
- manage partially and completely edentulous patients with prosthodontic
needs including the provision of fixed, removable and implant
prostheses.
- make records required for use in the laboratory fabrication
of dental prostheses and appliances.
- design a dental prosthesis or appliance, write a laboratory
prescription and evaluate laboratory products.
- apply accepted principles of ethics and jurisprudence to maintain
standards and advance knowledge and skills.
- apply basic principles of practice administration, financial
and personnel management to a dental practice.
- demonstrate professional behaviour that is ethical, supercedes
self-interest, strives for excellence, is committed to continued
professional development and is accountable to individual patients,
society and the profession.
Definition
To “manage”
the oral health care needs of a patient is assumed to include
all actions performed by a health care provider that are designed
to alter the course of a patient’s condition. Such actions
may include providing education, advice, treatment by the dentist,
treatment by the dentist after consultation with another health
care professional, referral of a patient to another health care
professional, monitoring treatment provided, but also may include
providing no treatment or observation. “Manage” assumes
the use of the least invasive therapy necessary to gain a successful
outcome in accordance with patient wishes.
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