Interdisciplinary Management of Complex Dental Problems

Interdisciplinary management of complex dental problems may be extremely rewarding for both the treating clinicians and patients. A rigorous systematic approach is necessary to develop a coordinated, patient centred, goal oriented treatment plan. It is critical to establish the needs of the individual patient within their own value system and establish a realistic plan. To achieve the best outcome, clinicians must establish a group of healthcare providers who will bring the necessary skills and knowledge to the interdisciplinary team. They must meet and communicate regularly and effectively through appropriate media. A sequence of activity with specific goals should be outlined, identifying the respective clinicians and their immediate goal, which all clinicians and the patient may refer to at any stage in treatment. The team leader has the responsibility of ensuring that the patient and clinicians are all cognizant of the stage that the patient has reached and what is performed next, in turn facilitating communication. If these processes are adhered to, then the patient and the team can anticipate a mutually rewarding experience with consistently excellent reproducible outcomes. Dr Goonewardene will outline strategies for managing and complex issues related to tooth loss, tooth wear and complex skeletal problems from an inter-disciplinary perspective. Special emphasis on how to facilitate complex 3 dimensional tooth movements using skeletal anchors will be discussed including application in the “surgery first” approach.