Thursday, April 8, 2010

EBD conference: Fact finding, thought-provoking treasure

Being selected to participate in the 100 attendee Champion’s conference held at ADA headquarters March 25-27 has given me a whole new perspective on research. Although I was acquainted with Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD), I still had a lot to learn. It began with a hands-on walk-through of the American Dental Association EBD website, familiarization of EBD terms and links, and a practice session. Experts on EBD, including the founder of The Cochrane Collections (gold standard of EBD), shared their methods of EBD application in a variety of settings; these included dental practices, educational facilities, and more. Fourteen tables of attendees had brainstorming sessions and shared outcomes with conference attendees. This process and the information shared stimulated me to return to the internet for research every day.

Some of the common knowledge facts that I believed were challenged and I was able to use new tools and techniques to discover the most current information. As important, meeting and getting to know colleagues with whom to collaborate with on future EBD projects, is a valuable outcome of this conference.

My thanks go out to Proctor & Gamble and ADA for providing this excellent opportunity to combine evidence with clinical judgment and patient needs to enhance my ability to make better decisions, share valid information, and provide better patient guidance and care.

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