[The integration of science in the clinical dental programme at the University of Nijmegen]

To be able to make a well founded clinical decision on the basis of evidence, the concept of 'evidence based practice' offers a solution by making it possible to select the appropriate knowledge from the increasing amount of scientific clinical information. Competence is required to put the concept (combining the best available scientific clinical evidence, experience and skills of the dentist and preferences of the patient) into practice. To prepare the undergraduate student for future clinical practice, the Nijmegen dental school has adopted evidence based practice to be implemented from the first year of dental training. The experiences of both students and lecturers are modest. The probable reason is that many clinical decisions are (can be) taken on the basis of experience and routine. The challenge is to base life-long learning on the practice of evidence based dentistry.