Evidence based dentistry Vs Experience based dentistry

Editorial for Volume 6, Issue 5

I recently witnessed a virtual fight where two practitioners, one young and one old, fought over a virtual case. The young being more qualified, argued he practised evidence based dentistry and ‘this is what the textbook says’. The older being more experienced, said she practiced experience based dentistry and ‘in my 20 years of practice, I have seen only 10 cases surviving the said technique.’ His colleagues laughed at her and her colleagues bullied him, and this went on and on. I was left with one question in my mind - in a fight between evidence based dentistry vs experience based dentistry, who wins?

We all know what is evidence based dentistry - journals, articles and textbooks to read about researches, studies and case examples to achieve optimum clinical results. But is it always practical, feasible or even possible to do ideal literature based treatments in each and every case at the clinic? Come to the other extreme - experience based dentistry. The favourite word of the dentistry jargon - jugaad - is a talent learned over time by seasoned practitioners. But the thing about jugaad is that it sometimes works and it sometimes fails - miserably. Some dentists follow what the head dentist at the clinic they observed at did, without applying their head to it much. Is it wise to be mechanical?

The real question is - can you really choose between evidences and experiences? What if we could combine the two? Protocols based on sound principles of dentistry, along with a huge dose of reality? Enter the DR Clinical Series. Keeping it simple. Keeping it real. Combining evidences and experiences for practicing both evidence based and experience based dentistry.

The DR Clinical Series: Evidences + Experiences

The primary objective of the DR ClinicalSeries is to provide dental professionals with practical and evidence-based knowledge and skills to achieve optimal occlusion in their patients. In particular, we aim to explore the interplay between esthetics and function in dental treatment planning, with a focus on available options for complex cases. The series is designed to cover a range of topics, starting with an overview of the basic principles of occlusion and moving on to more advanced concepts related to treatment planning. The session is designed to be interactive so that the audience can grasp the concepts and ask the doubts in a Q&A session at the end of the webinars. The ultimate goal of the series is to equip dental professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to provide their patients with the best possible dental care and to improve their overall understanding of the complex relationship between esthetics and function in dental treatment planning. We believe that the series will be successful in achieving these objectives and we are proud to have been able to provide this valuable educational resource to the dental community.

DR Clinical Series 1: Right Bite

Giving an insight into ‘Realistic Dentistry’ was our first mentor – Dr. Deepa Ravichandran. Her clinical series was based on Prosthodontics, where she took the viewers on a journey chronicling the struggles of the operator chair side, to delivering the final end result, in “high ticket cases”. The series was aptly named as: Right Bite: Harmony between Esthetics & Function! This 7 month series took place from September 2022 - April 2023. It featured six webinars that delved into various aspects of achieving the right bite and harmonizing esthetics and function in dental treatment.

1. Smile Rehab Strategies – Part 1
2. Smile Rehab Strategies – Part 2
3. Deprogrammers – Using What We Have!
4. Selective FMR – Is that even possible?
5. Complex Occlusion – Let’s be Precise!
6. Customising Occlusion & Trouble Shooting – When, Why, Where & How?