On the morning of Saturday 8 June 2024 the doors of the new Teaching Center of the Cona Hospital will open to host the refresher course entitled “Public Dentistry in Ferrara: between taking charge of fragility and therapeutic innovation”.
Leonardo Trombelli, Full Professor of Periodontology and Director of the Dentistry Operational Unit, is the Scientific Director of the Course. “The first keyword we wanted in the title is Public dentistry, since this initiative will see as speakers a large group of oral health professionals, dentists and dental hygienists, as employees of the Regional Health Service, affiliated universities and outpatient specialists currently working at the Dentistry of the Local Health Authority of Ferrara. All with the fundamental contribution of professional nurses, dental practice assistants and social and health workers, who guarantee the quality of the public service. This cohesive group of professionals will have the task of presenting, through a series of high clinical profile reports, the clinical reality of Ferrara Dentistry.”
“The other two key words are fragility and therapeutic innovation”, continues Trombelli. “Fragility because the service provided by Dentistry is accessible to patients classified as fragile due to health vulnerabilities, which expose them to a greater risk of incidence and severity of some oral pathologies, as well as a worse response to dental therapies and a consequent further deterioration their general health. But not only that: the Service is also intended for individuals who, due to their belonging to disadvantaged income groups, are considered fragile as they are more exposed to the most frequent oral pathologies, such as tooth decay and gum disease. To these patients we we dedicate over 22 thousand services per year in various dental disciplines. The management of the oral health of patients with this profile requires, first of all, a strong interaction between Dentistry and other medical disciplines. From this perspective, the relationships that will take place during the Course will fully reflect the multidisciplinary reality of our Dentistry and will include a strong participation of professionals from other Operational Units, such as diabetologists (dr. Marcello Monesi), nutritionists (dr. Cristina Saletti) and anesthetists (dr. Erminio Righini), who will support our dentists and dental hygienists as speakers. It will be an opportunity to present the personalized paths that Dentistry offers to protect the oral health of diabetic patients (Sweet Smile Programme), adolescents (Adolescent Periodontal Health Programme) and patients with severe disabilities.
In the context of the Course, the research. The staff of the Operational Unit directed by prof. Trombelli is characterized by figures with a strong orientation towards clinical research, the results of which are recognized internationally. Numerous clinical trials are carried out within the Service under the scientific coordination of the Interdepartmental Research Center for the Study of Periodontal and Peri-implant Diseases of the University of Ferrara, which this year will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its institution. The results of this research activity do not just remain on paper but translate into concrete clinical benefits for patients who access the public dentistry service. Just think of the creation of simplified and minimally invasive approaches that allow the surgical invasiveness of the operation to be reduced, optimizing the clinical outcome in patients who, due to their fragility, have limited tolerance or an unsatisfactory response to treatment. Or, in the same way, to the creation of care and research paths within which patients can receive, as part of the care activity of the National Health Service, bone reconstruction techniques that are developed right in Ferrara. The path relating to dental autotransplantation should be underlined as it allows the replacement of a tooth to be extracted – because it is irreparably compromised – with the patient’s own tooth, generally a wisdom tooth.
“In public clinical realities in which there is such a strong interaction between assistance and research, it is logical and natural that the third corner of the triangle is included: pre- and post-graduate teaching.” Talking is Roberto Farina, Associate Professor of Oral Surgery and Representative for Training and Research of the Integrated Activities Department of Primary Care of the AUSL of Ferrara, as well as Organizational Manager of the Course. “The Dentistry of the USL Company represents, in fact, an excellent training field in which the dentists and hygienists of the future build and strengthen their clinical skills. I believe it is essential that part of the clinical training of hygienists takes place in a public health context such as that of our Dentistry. And not only that: from all over Italy, six dentists per year come to us in Ferrara to refine their knowledge in the management of patients suffering from periodontitis as part of the two-year II level Master “Postgraduate Program for Proficiency in Periodontology”.
