Opinions of practitioners and program directors concerning accreditation standards for postdoctoral pediatric dentistry training programs.

PURPOSE This study was performed to assess opinions of program directors and practitioners about the importance and necessary numbers of experiences required by current accreditation standards for training of pediatric dentists. METHODS A 32-item questionnaire was sent to all program directors of ADA-accredited postdoctoral pediatric dentistry training programs and to a random sample of 10% of the fellow/active membership of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. RESULTS An overall response rate of 56% was obtained from the single mailing. Practitioners and program directors differed significantly (P < or = 0.05) only in their opinions about the number of submucosal and intravenous sedation cases required for proficiency of eight experiences surveyed. The two groups differed significantly in 3 of 12 areas in terms of importance attributed for practice of contemporary pediatric dentistry: initiating and completing a research paper, biostatistics/epidemiology, and practice management. Program directors had little difficulty obtaining required experiences, and program dependence on Medicaid did not negatively affect quality of education. CONCLUSION Practitioners and program directors agreed on the importance of most experiences and activities required by current accreditation standards.