Referral patterns in implant dentistry

Referral patterns in implant dentistry
August 2004
Peter J. Mayer, DDS, MD
M. Goupil
Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Online
Statement of the Problem: With the increasing popularity of dental implants, practitioners from several dental specialities have sought training in the procedure. Historically, oral surgeons have been trained in this area of dentistry. More recently, however, periodontists and even prosthodontists, endodontists, and general dentists have been successful in incorporating them into their practices. It has been shown that clinical experience at the predoctoral level leads to increased participation in implant dentistry. This phenomenon is felt to exist at the graduate training level, as well. Dental schools have relied on speculative information about which specialities are placing implants and have structured their programs accordingly. Studies of referral patterns have been used in other areas of dentistry. This study was designed to answer the question of who is placing implants in an attempt to appropriately prepare graduate programs for training in implant dentistry.
Materials and Methods: A survey was designed to determine the referral patterns of general dentists practicing in Connecticut. Telephone solicitation of 200 randomly chosen Connecticut general dentists was attempted.
Method of Data Analysis: Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results: Of the 200 attempted contacts, 95 (47.5%) responded to the survey: 50.5% (48/95) reported periodontists as their primary referree, whereas 48.4% (46/95) reported oral and maxillofacial surgeons. One (1%) respondent referred to a prosthodontist. When asked why they refer to that specialist, 64.1% of periodontist and 35.9% of oral surgeon referrers felt that that specialty was best suited for the placement of implants.
Conclusion: Although small, this survey showed that the placement of implants appears to be shared, primarily, by oral and maxillofacial surgeons and periodontists. Interestingly, in the group that chose based on perceived competency (convenience and practitioner regardless of specialty were other choices), more dentists felt that periodontists are better suited for placing implants. When asked why, their attention to detail, compared to oral surgeons, was the most common response. Both oral and maxillofacial surgery and periodontics graduate programs would benefit from continued training in the placement of dental implants. Oral surgery programs, however, might benefit from added training in those areas thought to require more attention to detail.
References
Evaluation of predoctoral implant curriculum: Does such a program influence graduatesÇƒÙ practice patterns. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants 17:543, 2002
Fluoride supplement prescribing and dental referral patterns among academic pediatricians. Pediatrics 101:E6, 1998
Publishing and Reprint Information
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Copyright ¨© 2004 by Elsevier Inc.
doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2004.05.177