Implementation of a surgical safety checklist for dental implant surgeries in a prosthodontics residency program

Surgical safety checklists for dental implant surgeries-a scoping review

OBJECTIVES

In both elective surgeries and aviation, a reduction of complications can be expected by paying attention to the so-called human factors. Checklists are a well-known way to overcome some of these problems. We aimed to evaluate the current evidence regarding the use of checklists in implant dentistry.

METHODS

An electronic literature search was conducted in the following databases: CINHAL, Medline, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library until March 2022. Based on the results and additional literature, a preliminary checklist for surgical implant therapy was designed.

RESULTS

Three publications dealing with dental implants and checklists were identified. One dealt with the use of a checklist in implant dentistry and was described as a quality assessment study. The remaining two studies offered suggestions for checklists based on literature research and expert opinion.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on our results, the evidence for the use of checklists in dental implantology is extremely low. Considering the great potential, it can be stated that there is a need to catch up. While creating a new implant checklist, we took care of meeting the criteria for high-quality checklists. Future controlled studies will help to place it on a broad foundation.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Checklists are a well-known way to prevent complications. They are especially established in aviation, but many surgical specialties and anesthesia adopt this successful concept. As implantology has become one of the fastest-growing areas of dentistry, it is imperative that checklists become an integral part of it.

Compliance with the Surgery Safety Checklist: An Update on the Status

WHO has recommended the implementation of the Surgery Safety Checklist (SSC) to reign in often simple logistic errors that lead to numerous complications, some of them being fatal, in the perioperative period. This study aims to discuss doubts presented in the medical literature concerning the effectiveness of SSC in the currently existing form. The article is based on the literature search performed in PubMed using the command phrase "Surgery Safety Checklist". The search yielded 1,476 articles up to March 2021. Out of this group, we selected 811 articles for further detailed analysis. The selection was based on the meritorious SSC-related topicality and scrutinized content of the articles. Out of these articles, we identified 59 studies that specifically raised the issue of the effectiveness of SSC use in its current form, which we discussed herein in detail. The review distinctly indicates that the SSC reduces perioperative complications including fatalities. However, there are issues reported with the itemized content of the checklist that hardly corresponds to the diverseness of patients' conditions and operating room settings. Further, it is unclear if a reduction in the complications stems from the use of SSC or the algorithms for performing procedures it contains. The consensus arises that SSC should be periodically updated so that it would catch up with the advances in medical knowledge and the emerging technologies, which would safeguard the SSC from becoming just another paperwork nuisance for the operating room staff.

Causes and Effects of Introducing Surgery Safety Checklist: A Review

The medical treatment process, particularly surgery, is inescapably bound to potential complications or undesirable adverse events. This narrative review aims to present the causes and effects of the introduction of the WHO Surgery Safety Checklist (SSC), the use of which is expected to reduce the number of perioperative errors, complications, and mortality. To achieve this objective, we performed a bibliometric analysis of medical citations indexed in the PubMed database using the SSC subject heading. Findings revealed a total of 1441 articles meeting inclusion status, with 1171 published during the last decade. After the screening of titles and abstracts, the members of the research team selected 75 articles, deemed most relevant for inclusion in the review, which were then thoroughly analyzed. All in all, the findings were that the use of SSC appreciably reduced the number of simple logistic errors in the perioperative period decreasing the frequency of resulting complications and mortality.

Annual review of selected scientific literature: A report of the Committee on Scientific Investigation of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry

This comprehensive review of the 2019 restorative dental literature is offered to inform busy dentists regarding remarkable publications and noteworthy progress made in the profession. Developed by the Scientific Investigation Committee of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry, each author brings discipline-specific expertise to 1 of 8 sections of the report: (1) prosthodontics; (2) periodontics, alveolar bone, and peri-implant tissues; (3) implant dentistry; (4) dental materials and therapeutics; (5) occlusion and temporomandibular disorders; (6) sleep-related breathing disorders; (7) oral medicine and oral and maxillofacial surgery; and (8) dental caries and cariology. The report targets important information likely to influence day-to-day dental treatment decisions. Each review is not intended to stand alone but to update interested readers so that they may visit source material when greater detail is desired. As the profession moves toward evidence-based clinical decision-making, an incredible volume of potentially valuable dental literature continues to increase. It is the intention of this review and its authors to provide assistance in negotiating the extensive dental literature published in 2019. It is our hope that readers find this work useful in the clinical management of dental patients.