Treatment planning instruction in North American dental schools, 1984-85

A questionnaire developed to determine the structure and processes associated with dental treatment planning curricula was sent to the 70 American and Canadian dental schools in 1984. Information was solicited on administrative organization of treatment planning, faculty and their qualifications, time committed to and placement of treatment planning in the curriculum, teaching methods, evaluation procedures, clock hours for preclinical and clinical instruction, scope of clinical treatment plans, subject matter in the curriculum, textbook utilization, graduation requirements, and the inclusion of treatment planning examinations by the regional licensing board. Sixty-two schools responded, a response rate of 88 percent. The administrative and curricular structure of treatment planning depended primarily on the clinical and departmental organization of the school. The majority of respondents had an average of four full-time faculty members, usually affiliated with a department of oral diagnosis, responsible for teaching treatment planning. Eighty-one percent of the respondents offer preclinical treatment planning information and 85 percent develop clinical treatment plans, varying from identification of general treatment areas to comprehensive, sequential treatment plans with appropriate alternatives. The findings indicated that there is no definite distinction between oral diagnosis and treatment planning in many schools. Currently, there are no curricular guidelines focused exclusively on the principles of dental treatment planning.