Curriculum guidelines and standards for dental laser education

This paper reports on the revision of the Curriculum Guidelines and Standards for Dental Laser Education. The original Guidelines were developed at a workshop at the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry in 1992, presented at the January 1993 SPIE symposium, and published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1880. They have since been endorsed and implemented worldwide. The Guidelines define the standard of education for practitioners who use lasers, with a goal to enhance of student and practitioner understanding and knowledge of laser technology applications in dentistry. Four levels of education are outlined. Introductory Courses are designed to provide general information on lasers in dentistry. They are informational, without an assessment of the student's proficiency in laser use. Standard Proficiency, Advanced Proficiency, and Educator Courses have specific educational goals, behavioral objectives, and examinations of proficiency. Standard Proficiency Courses provide a basic level of education with didactic, laboratory, and clinical exercises to be satisfactorily completed before using lasers clinically. Advanced Proficiency Courses increase this level of education to include a clinical case study requirement. Educator Courses define requirements for instructors of laser education in dentistry. Revision of the Guidelines ensures that they keep pace with technological developments and research findings.