Clinical certificate course in general dentistry

Clinical class in endodontics was held at our New Delhi centre. Pit and fissure sealant, pulpectomy, pulpotomy and apex genesis were discussed. The class was followed by a demonstration of sealant placement.   Pit and fissure sealants are materials that are applied to the pits and fissure surfaces of teeth to create a thin barrier which protects the sealed surface from decay. Sealants are a safe and painless way of protecting teeth from decay. A sealant is a protective plastic coating, which is applied to the biting surfaces of the back teeth. It forms a hard shield that keeps food and bacteria from getting into the tiny grooves in the teeth and causing decay. Such classes are regularly conducted at AHEAD Academy, New Delhi and Mohali.

A demonstration of tooth preparation was given to the new batch of students at AHEAD Academy, New Delhi. After that students practiced tooth preparation on many patients. The faculty then cleared the doubts of students to improve their preparations. The four main categories of crown were metal, ceramic, metal-ceramic and composite. Tooth preparations need to reflect the different requirements of these materials in terms of amount of space needed to accommodate the crown and its marginal configuration. Tooth preparations also need to be free from undercuts whilst reliably retaining the crown.

Online live class was conducted at AHEAD Academy, New Delhi. The topic of discussion was “screening for oral diseases”. The topics related to MCQs frequently asked in exams were explained in detail. The topics related to screening including sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were discussed. Students can attend such classes from their homes or anywhere they find it comfortable. It is similar to classroom teaching where students can ask their doubts that are answered by the expert faculty. The class was attended by students preparing for MDS Exams at AHEAD Academy, New Delhi and Mohali.

Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (or ROC curve) was taught to the students. It is a plot of the true positive rate against the false positive rate for the different possible cut points of a diagnostic test.

An ROC curve demonstrates several things:

·         It shows the trade-off between sensitivity and specificity (any increase in sensitivity will be accompanied by a decrease in specificity).

·         The closer the curve follows the left-hand border and then the top border of the ROC space, the more accurate the test.

·         The closer the curve comes to the 45-degree diagonal of the ROC space, the less accurate the test.