Quality assurance, benchmarking, assessment and mutual international recognition of qualifications.

The aim of this report is to provide guidance to assist in the international convergence of quality assurance, benchmarking and assessment systems to improve dental education. Proposals are developed for mutual recognition of qualifications, to aid international movement and exchange of staff and students including and supporting developing countries. Quality assurance is the responsibility of all staff involved in dental education and involves three levels: internal, institutional and external. Benchmarking information provides a subject framework. Benchmarks are useful for a variety of purposes including design and validation of programmes, examination and review; they can also strengthen the accreditation process undertaken by professional and statutory bodies. Benchmark information can be used by institutions as part of their programme approval process, to set degree standards. The standards should be developed by the dental academic community through formal groups of experts. Assessment outcomes of student learning are a measure of the quality of the learning programme. The goal of an effective assessment strategy should be that it provides the starting point for students to adopt a positive approach to effective and competent practice, reflective and lifelong learning. All assessment methods should be evidence based or based upon research. Mutual recognition of professional qualifications means that qualifications gained in one country (the home country) are recognized in another country (the host country). It empowers movement of skilled workers, which can help resolve skills shortages within participating countries. These proposals are not intended to be either exhaustive or prescriptive; they are purely for guidance and derived from the identification of what is perceived to be 'best practice'.

[The effect of a chemotherapeutical amine containing toothpaste on plaque formation, gingivitis and caries in clinical and animal experiment]. / Die Wirkung einer chemotherapeutischen, aminehaltigen Zahnpasta auf Plaquebildung, Gingivitis und Karies im klinischen und tierexperimentellen Versuch.

"C31G" means and amine mixture, which shall be, a new "sure" substance of small toxicity and is used as an effective plaque and caries reducing chemotherapeutical substance in a tooth paste. In this study we report on: the caries reducing effect in the teeth cleaning experiment in Osborn-Mendel-rats (96 animals, 6 Groups) with C-31G-containing tooth pastes in different concentrations and also in combinations with and without fluoride. the effect of an 1% C31G-containing tooth paste on plaque formation (SLI + QHI) and gingivitis (SBI) in a clinical double blind cross over-study (section % patients, 2 groups, 2 pre-experimental OH-Plases, teeth cleaning once per day). The study results don't show the expected plaque and caries reducind effect. The results of the in vivo and in vitro experiments call for a critical examination of the substances with attention of further parameters.

Aluminium in tooth pastes and Alzheimer's disease.

Epidemiological studies from Norway and England suggest a relation between the frequency of Alzheimer's disease and the concentration of aluminium in the drinking water. Estimates, made in this study, show that the role of aluminium from tooth pastes may be even more important than that from the drinking water. For that reason we determined in samples of tooth pastes taken from the BENELUX market which brands contained aluminium. This appeared to be the case for about 22% of the brands which according to the manufacturers cover about 60% of the market.

[The use of aluminum-containing toothpaste and its potential risk]. / Utilisation de pâtes dentifrices contenant de l'aluminium et risques possibles.

Epidemiological studies from Norway and England suggest that there is a relation between the frequency of Alzheimer's disease and the concentration of aluminum in the drinking water. A recent Dutch study suggests further that the role of aluminum from tooth pastes may be even more important than that from drinking water. For this reason we determined in samples from the Belgian market which tooth pastes contained aluminium oxyhydroxide as abrasive. This happened to be the case in 5 out of 27 brands. It is not know to us which part of the market these tooth pastes represent.

[Maturation of mammalian bone minerals. A new method for determining bone metabolism]. / Eine Studie über die Reifung von Säugetier-knochenmineralien. Eine neue Methode zur Bestimmung des Knochenumsatzes.

The present report begins by comparing data on bone mineralization communicated in the literature to date with the authors' own previously published concept of the "three-phase model". The age-dependent accumulation of minerals in the femurs of Wistar rats was also chemically-analytically investigated. The results suggest that the mineral first formed is octacalcium phosphate. It is followed by sodium- and magnesium-containing phases. Maturation of octacalcium phosphate only occurs after this; it is converted into a highly carbon-deficient hydroxyapatite. During this conversion the molar Ca/P ratio rises from 1.33 to 2. However, the final value of 2 is not fully attained: this is attributable to the "turnover" activity of bone-metabolic processes. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the newly developed chemical method of determining bone turnover can be used to determine its vitality.

The determination of amino-acid enantiomers in human saliva with Chirasil-Val.

The use of polysiloxanes as stationary phase in glass-capillary gas-chromatography carrying chiral groups enables the separation and quantitation of most amino-acid enantiomers and a variety of other compounds in a much shorter time than previously. This phase exhibits low volatility and high thermal stability and may be used in routine analysis with open tubular columns at temperatures of at least 175 degrees C. Most protein amino acids are separated in a temperature programme between 90 and 175 degrees C, thus obviating the need for multiple injections. Resolution factors are lower than those of other diamide phases containing the L-valine-t. butyl-amide group, but are sufficient for resolution of almost all protein amino-acid enantiomers. Incomplete recovery from the sample, incomplete derivatization, hydrolysis and thermal decomposition of the derivative and shifting response factors can be compensated for by adding the unnatural enantiomer. The accuracy of amino-acid analysis by enantiomer labelling is equal or superior to that of known methods and permits complete analysis of peptides with respect to both amino-acid composition and the optical purity of each amino acid. The application of this method to human saliva provided information concerning enzymic and bacterial process in the mouth.