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AAE to Hold First-Ever Consensus Conference
This AAE Consensus Conference on October 3, 2008 in Chicago, Ill., will address issues regarding the lack of standardized endodontic diagnostic terms, especially between the predoctoral curriculum, endodontic textbooks, American Board of Endodontics, the AAE Glossary of Endodontic Terms and those used for national board exams. Generously funded by the AAE Foundation, this conference is by invitation only. Invitees were carefully selected and represent all interested parties including educators, the AAE Board of Directors, ABE and AAE Foundation, international participants, textbook authors, JOE associate editors and representatives from test committees. The conference will give leading endodontic educators, researchers, leaders and other interested parties a forum to discuss the wide variation in terms with the intent of reaching consensus on the terminology, definitions, evaluation criteria and treatment modalities for pulpal and periapical disease.
The conference is modeled after the National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference format, which involves proposing questions that can be answered by the presentation of scientific information derived from evidence-based research. As a result, the Association identified four subcommittees to develop papers, each addressing a specific question. Those questions are:
- Identify and determine the metrics, hierarchy and predictive value of all the parameters and/or methods used during endodontic diagnosis;
- Identify and define all diagnostic terms for pulpal health and disease states;
- Identify and define all diagnostic terms for periapical/periradicular health and disease states; and
- Identify various endodontic treatment modalities based upon the diagnoses.
- The draft papers will undergo revisions following a comment period, and presentation of the final papers will occur at the conference for discussion and consensus, with the event proceedings published in a future issue of the Journal of Endodontics.
Please contact Jill E. Forister, education coordinator, 800/872-3636 (North America) or 312/266-7255 (International), ext. 3034, or via e-mail at jforister@aae.org, if you have any questions or concerns regarding the Consensus Conference.