Provision of "comprehensive dental care" in various dental schools

The purpose of this survey was to solicit information about comprehensive dental care (CDC) programmes in various dental schools. Seventy-four schools responded to a questionnaire which sought information about a range of topics pertaining to CDC. The 19 questions used were categorized under the following headings: implementation and success; physical nature of clinics; staffing; and, student involvement. The diverse nature of the responses is thought to be an expression of differing philosophies and of the presence of numerous constraints to the introduction of CDC. The various approaches to CDC make it very difficult to gauge the relative merits of the many systems reported. It appears from this study that departments will continue to play an important role in preparing students to participate in CDC programmes and that it would be safer to introduce students to CDC during the final year of study.