Guidelines for Clinical Practice
Visitors to this website will notice a new section, “Guidelines for Clinical Practice,” which will serve the members of IAPD by directing them to detailed guidelines for clinical practice. These comprehensive guidelines, developed by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) and the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) serve an important educational purpose for the practitioner.
Although some guidelines apply more specifically to some geographic areas, most contain valuable information for practitioners wherever they might practice in the world. When appropriate, they also serve to inform patients and their caregivers.
Background of Guidelines
More than thirty years ago, the AAPD began production of Policies and Guidelines for clinical practice. An annual Reference Manual was produced for its members and it now contains more than 65 policies and guidelines for clinical practice. They are reviewed on a regular basis and revised when necessary. Access to these policies and guidelines is readily available on the AAPD website (http://www.aapd.org/policies/)
In 1997, the EAPD Board initiated the development of “common recommendations and guidelines for providing dental care for children.” Since that time, six guidelines were produced. Access to those recommendations can be obtained from the EAPD website (www.eapd.eu) in the section Policies and Guidelines.
Featured Guidelines
Periodically, this IAPD website will bring to the attention of its members two or three policies or guidelines which should be reviewed. Last year, “Dental Home” and “Guidelines on Prevention of Early Childhood Caries” were featured. (Click on the links below for the guideline of your choice for review)
At this time two additional policies are brought to the reader’s attention:“Policy on early childhood caries(ECC): Classification, Consequences and Preventive Strategies” (available on the AAPD website) and “Guidelines for Best Clinical Practice on Molar-Incisor-Hypomineralisation (MIH)” (available on the EAPD website). Review of these policies will be a valuable contribution to the continuing education of a practitioner.
Guidelines for Best Clinical Practice on Molar-Incisor-Hypomineralisation (MIH) (by EAPD)