The role of professional journalism in protecting against questionable practice

The editor in chief of the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association explains that professional journalism alone cannot be expected to protect against questionable practice but it plays a vital role in the network of resources that define standards of excellent and ethical care. According to some, the explosion of biomedical information has created a crisis as emerging science overwhelms practitioners' capacity to intelligently evaluate it and incorporate it into practice. Research in medicine shows that journals play only a part in decisions regarding practice patterns. Some initiatives taken by the Canadian Dental Association to publish professional literature relevant to practitioners' needs to remain current in order to prevent questionable dental practice are described.