Clinical Practice Guidelines in Dentistry: Part II. By Dentists, For Dentists

There is a growing interest in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for all health care providers. As discussed in the first paper of this 2-part series, there are many misperceptions about guidelines and their potential risks and benefits. The dental profession in Canada, cognizant of both the importance and the challenges of developing sound, credible and relevant guidelines for dentists, has created a unique, autonomous collaboration of multiple stakeholders, the Canadian Collaboration on CPGs in Dentistry (CCCD). This paper discusses the history, structure and processes of the CCCD and introduces the first guideline under development by and for Canadian dentists.

MeSH Key Words: Canada; dentistry; evidence-based medicine; practice guidelines