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Bringing the knowledge of prevention to patients is the first professional obligation to keep in mind.
Meet Professor Eduardo Sampaio, a periodontology and implantology specialist based in São Paulo, Brazil. A lifelong learning enthusiast, he’s founded both a website for dentistry specialists and students which publishes clinical studies and other professional content, and a talk show focused on the history of dentistry. Also a university lectuter, Prof. Sampaio believes that curricula should focus more on prevention techniques, which are often overlooked.
Dentistry has always been a part of my life. Both my grandfather and my father were dentists, and when I was twelve years old I started helping the prosthetic technician that worked with my father. When it was time to apply to the university, I had already decided to study dentistry.
After graduation, I started to work and realised that I did not feel secure about my knowledge in periodontics. However, the clinical demand for this specific area was huge. I did a short periodontics course and fell in love with periodontal surgeries. Even before the course was over, I decided to start my master’s degree and after finishing it, the natural path was to study implantodontics.
I’m a lecturer and specialisation-course professor, our courses take place once a month. My favourite part is seeing our students grow and improve during the course. I love seeing how they change their philosophy, integrating and caring for the patient’s entire health, not only oral health.
“Dentistry is a profession that requires ethics, responsibility and a lot of attention to the patient.”
Yes, for sure. Younger generations want everything to be done by yesterday. Besides that, they are extremely technology-friendly, which is good. However, they take time to understand the importance of processes and biological foundations, which still need to be respected, no matter how much technology we have.
The main message that I always try to deliver is that dentistry is a profession that requires ethics, responsibility and a lot of attention to the patient – always seeing the patient as a whole. We must highlight the importance of professionals as health promoters to bring the message of oral prevention to everyone. This will help us prevent oral problems from being as prevalent as they are today.
I believe that dentistry is transforming, both by the evolution of technical and scientific knowledge, and by the quality information on prevention of oral diseases that the population has access to today.
The technical and scientific evolution gives us more resources to treat the most diverse oral problems. However, the recent change in the population’s concern with oral prevention means that we will need to review the educational curricula of dental schools, which today are predominantly focused on treatments, leaving preventive techniques forgotten.
I hope to see prevention take its right place in relation to oral problems, and with that, fewer people suffering from diseases caused by a lack of oral care.
“We need to review the dental curricula, which are focused on treatments, leaving prevention forgotten.”
Brazil has a large number of dentistry professionals, but unfortunately, most of them are not very concerned with the oral health of patients. Many treatments are performed that aren’t necessary, other than from an aesthetic appeal, and even worse, they’re done without oral hygiene guidelines so that future problems are avoided.
The result is a very commercial form of dentistry, only focusing on the business side of dentistry, aimed only at the sale of treatments. There is a lack of supervision, both of educational institutions and of professionals – who have little continued education or updating of their knowledge, or when they do, the level of scientific-based information is very low. A large number of patients are missing a basic health education, including oral health.
“I hope to see prevention take its rightful place in relation to oral problems.”
Brazil needs to evolve a lot as a whole, including issues related to oral health. We need to educate the population in preventive techniques, increase the supervision of educational institutions and of practitioners. A mandatory professional education program should be created. Among several other issues…
iDent Talks is another project related to my interest in the history of dentistry.
I’m the creator of the idea and host of the talk show, where I talk to famous professors on a national and international level, but focusing on history – from why they have chosen dentistry, to the present day.
The idea is to give them the opportunity to show that everything they have achieved was through their own work, with a lot of dedication, effort and study. A reverence of respect to those who built dentistry long before us. All this in an informal way. It is still serious and responsible, but with touches of humour and informality.
“We always have to be concerned about what we say, who we say it to, and how it can be interpreted.”
Now, in 2021, we are preparing for the fourth season and we plan to make it permanent throughout the year. In the first three seasons, we recorded the entire season (between 12 and 16 interviews) in two days, in a theatre in Rio de Janeiro, with the entire production. After recording and editing each interview, they are broadcasted once a week for a period of 2-3 months. Afterwards, all interviews are available to subscribers of the iDent.com.br channel, a distance-learning platform in dentistry.
The first season surpassed more than 160,000 views, mainly with students and dentistry professionals as the target audience.
Currently, the plan is to expand the iDent program to run weekly for 10 months a year. There is also a project for a second book (first book Periobook – Classificação Das Doenças Periodontais was published in 2019, ed.). But first, the plan is to resume activities at the pre-pandemic level.
I relax by listening to music and reading books. I love being with my wife and kids, watching and enjoying their growth. I believe we always need to be open to learning and evolution. I have a goal of learning one new thing per year. It could be something simple, like learning to row, or something totally out of the ordinary. I try to keep curious and learn things I don’t know yet.
Professor Eduardo Sampaio has a master’s degree in periodontology and specialises in implantodontics. He has been a university teacher of both fields for several years.
Prof. Sampaio is the creator and host of the talk show iDent Talks,where he discusses dentistry with renowned specialists. The show is currently preparing for its 4th season. Follow Prof. Sampaio on Instagram to learn more about his activities.