Delphi Project on the trends in Implant Dentistry in the COVID‐19 era: Perspectives from Latin America

Abstract

Aim To establish trends in Implant Dentistry in Latin America in the COVID‐19 pandemic. Material and methods A steering committee and an advisory group of experts in Implant Dentistry were selected among eighteen countries. An open‐ended questionnaire by Delphi methodology was validated including 64 questions, divided in 7 topics, concerning the various trends in dental implantology. The survey was conducted in two rounds, which provided the participants in the second round with the results of the first. The questionnaires were completed on August 2020, and the online meeting conference was held on September 2020. The final prediction was developed through consensus by a selected group of experts. Results A total of 197 experts from Latin America answered the first and second questionnaire. In the first round, the established threshold for consensus (65%) was achieved in 30 questions (46.87%). In the second round, performed on average 45 days later, this level was achieved in 47 questions (73.43%). Consensus was completely reached on the item “Diagnostic” (100%), the field with the lowest consensus was “Demand for treatment with dental implants” (37.5%). Conclusions The present study in Latin America has provided relevant and useful information on the predictions in the education and practice of Implant Dentistry in the COVID‐19 era. The consensus points toward a great confidence of clinicians in the biosecurity protocols used to minimize the risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission. It is foreseen as an important change in education, with introduction of virtual reality and other simulation technologies in implant training.

Delphi methodology in healthcare research: How to decide its appropriateness

“…Fifty-two Delphi studies were assessed as per the inclusion criteria, and 34 (67.3%) studies[ 24 - 57 ], were finally analyzed using nine evaluation points (Table 1 ). The data on medical specialty, geographical location, the purpose of the study, conclusion format, number of experts, and Delphi rounds were collected for each study (Table 2 ).…”

Multi‐stakeholder contribution to the identification of a core outcome set and measurements in implant dentistry (ID‐COSM initiative) using the Delphi methodology

“…Among the tested methods to achieve agreement on selecting a potential core set of outcomes, the Delphi methodology has become popular, even though Delphi‐based studies must be of sufficient quality to be considered valid (Sinha et al, 2011). In fact, Delphi methodology is progressively spreading in scientific publications in the different medical specialities (Carter et al, 2021; Millward et al, 2022; Mitchell et al, 2022; Munblit et al, 2022; Prorok et al, 2022; Rosala‐Hallas et al, 2022) and also in dentistry (Alarcón, Sanz‐Sánchez, López‐Pacheco, et al, 2021; Alarcón, Sanz‐Sánchez, Shibli, et al, 2021; Sanz et al, 2019). This is partially due to the ability of the Delphi method to distil relevant problems where knowledge is unclear, and by applying a structured process of gathering information from experts and other stakeholders through subjective‐intuitive foresight thinking, a final agreement is reached.…”

Ibero‐Panamerican Federation of Periodontology Delphi study on the trends of periodontology and periodontics by the year 2030. A Latin American consensus

“…Recently, a study was published, endorsed by FIPP and the Peruvian Association of Oral Implantology, evaluating the trends in Implant Dentistry during the COVID‐19 pandemic, in LatAm. The results showed that the biosafety protocols to minimize the risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission are reliable, as well as the importance of the use of simulation and virtual reality technology in dental training 18 …”

“…The results showed that the biosafety protocols to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission are reliable, as well as the importance of the use of simulation and virtual reality technology in dental training. 18 The aim of the present study, endorsed by FIPP, was to assess, following the Delphi methodology, trends in the epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and supportive care of periodontal diseases and education in LatAm, by the year 2030.…”