Evidence-based practice and dental nurse education

Dental professionals should use evidence to support their practice decisions (General Dental Council (GDC), 2013a). The term ‘research literature’ or ‘research aware'has been used to label the way that professionals in other health related areas should practice to provide evidence-based healthcare (Hamer and Collinson, 2006). This article examines evidence-based practice, looks at the theories that support its importance to dental nurses and its impact on practice, as well as the rise of the dental nursing profession.

Advances in dental materials and treatments are emerging at exceptional rates. Because of this, dental nurses need to understand evidence-based practice and, through this knowledge, identify the most effective and efficient ways to deliver oral healthcare and maintain dentistry's status as a scientifically driven health profession. This status is most visible through the substantial investment made in research to increase the likelihood of care delivered being based on evidence of what works (Rycroft-Malone et al, 2004).