A compendium of objectives for geriatric dentistry

A two-phase survey was conducted with 82 persons identified as having special knowledge in geriatric dentistry. In Phase 1, they were asked to list competencies required of the geriatric dentist. In Phase 2, they were asked to rate the relative importance of 150 competencies for five different educational settings: dental school, general practice residency, prosthodontic specialty program, geriatric fellowship program, and continuing education. The resulting compendium of objectives suggests that geriatric dentistry should become integrated into general dentistry, with relatively few competencies reserved for specialists.