BSP UK Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Periodontitis
The BSP is pleased to advise that the open access version of our paper, BSP implementation of European S3 - level evidence-based treatment guidelines for stage I-III periodontitis in UK clinical practice, is now available in the online Journal of Dentistry: https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0300-5712(20)30310-9
The Guidelines communicate, in a very transparent way, the evidence behind all the treatment interventions that we do in dealing with a case of periodontitis (gum disease). This is an important document, as the recommendations provide evidence-based support for specialists, dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists.
Starting tomorrow, the BSP is running a series of four educational webinars to support members and the wider dental profession in interpreting the guidelines in a way that is achievable in practice. The information about these educational webinars is displayed on the Events page of the website.
The BSP has been kindly supported by Haleon to record several educational videos and produce flowchart resources to help dental care professionals to implement the guidelines in clinical practice. By creating a series of short video clips, to be shared via social media and our website, we can help to spread the important educational message to the wider dental profession, patients and the public. We aim to distribute our clinical guideline flowchart to all dental practices in the UK to accompany their classification flowchart.
A lay version of the guidelines for the public and patients is also being produced, and we are currently finalising this version of the paper. It was extremely important to the BSP to involve patients, who could present their important viewpoints in the workshops. We shall be consulting Patient Forum members on the lay version of the guidelines. The lay version will allow patients to empower themselves with evidence-based information to both take responsibility for aspects of their disease management and know that they are being offered appropriate, contemporary, evidence-based treatment.
In addition, the BSP has created a lay flowchart, which conveys the importance of gum health in a simplified, informative way. Our aim in creating resources for patients and the public include:
- Help the public understand what gum disease is
- Raise awareness of how you can look after your gums and maintain good oral health
- Reduce the stigma associated with gum disease (as highlighted in “The Sound of Periodontitis” video) by identifying the many causes including smoking, diabetes etc.
- Highlight that more can be done to aid gum health in addition to brushing your teeth
- Encourage the patient to take ownership of their disease and highlight the ways they can do this
All of these resources will be added to our dedicated S3 Guideline website page as soon as they are finalised: https://www.bsperio.org.uk/news/bsp-uk-clinical-practice-guidelines-for-the-treatment-of-periodontitis
Professor West and Professor Kebschull commented, "We are delighted with the outcome of this project and would like to thank everyone who participated in the workshops and contributed to the guidelines. Together, we have helped the BSP to successfully achieve the aims of this project in a very short space of time."