On June 18th members of the Young Alpha Omega group met at the Preiskel Dental Centre in Central London for a couple of hours of teaching and discussion on a Sunday afternoon
Present were a mixture of dental students from Y2-Y5 KCL plus a few newly qualified core and foundation year dentists as well as a couple of, dare I say it? seasoned practitioners bringing up the rear!
The afternoon was led by Dr Alon Preiskel the current Chairman of the Alpha Omega London Society and the President of the American Prosthodontic Society.
Alon is a reviewer for the International Journal of Implant Dentistry and Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry and has gained an Executive MBA from London Business School. He is also the founder of the Collaborate Dental Group.
Dr Preiskel opened the meeting with a general discussion of how to tackle complex cases using a basic protocol:
1/Information Collection
2/Diagnosis
3/Treatment objectives
4/Treatment options
5/Treatment plan
He emphasised that the first appointment with the patient should be unhurried and a ‘getting to know you’ exercise. During this period, listening to the patients issues and expectations as well as the previous dental history will allow better understanding of what may be required and indeed whether a successful professional relationship can be established.
All the usual investigations can then be carried out including a full intra and extra oral examination, any special tests, photos, radiographs and scans as necessary, as well as a full medical history and how the results may impinge on any treatment plan.
Following on from this a diagnosis can be formulated and then after any further discussion with the patient, the treatment objectives can be clarified. For Instance, the patient may just be interested in functionality rather than aesthetics or just requires a full overarching plan that may take some time to achieve. Then the various options can be gone through at length…This may even require a second consultation and discussion.
The dental treatment process can be divided into:
Emergency treatment and pain relief
Stabilisation of active disease
Restoration
Maintenance
Finally a plan can be embarked upon in which everything has been carefully explained to the patient and importantly the clinician is happy that it can be achieved within his/her scope of clinical expertise!
Dr Preiskel then presented a few cases and opened the possible treatment options to general discussion:
The options ranged from re root treatment/ apicectomy; extraction and implant or Maryland Bridge or denture. In fact, although it seemed an obvious candidate for an implant the tooth was re root treated and restored and several years on it remains stable!
The next case was presented which actually required two different solutions:
There was a lively discussion around what seemed to be obvious but in fact, taking into account all the factors and the clinical presentation after careful thought it appeared that not was all as it appeared to be and that no patient is exactly like another!
One of our members who had travelled all the way from Newcastle noted that she “found it helpful to learn about when an anterior crown would be indicated over a veneer for a patient with aesthetic worries due to discolouration post RCT. She also appreciated the discussion about communication techniques and the ability to sense when a patient may become challenging due to their expectations. The session was extremely valuable and a nice opportunity to catch up with my fellow AO colleagues.”
Afterwards, while partaking of the refreshments everyone embarked on further discussion and many questions were posed and answered by Dr Preiskel . We had a lovely afternoon and the young AO members had an excellent opportunity for networking and exchanging early years experiences. Connections were made as well as advice re DFT and DCT placements.
I am sure that all present felt that complex treatment planning is an art in itself and that learning in our profession is never ending! It was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences, reassure those just starting on their journey and to demonstrate the power of mentorship and guidance offered by Alpha Omega.
We hope to set up further study groups an various subjects including cosmetic dentistry, periodontics and orthodontics. Please contact us if you have any special requests.
And thank you Alon for giving up your Sunday afternoon!
Dr Diana Spencer
Membership secretary
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