Using New Tools to Advance Periodontics.

Abstract

We welcome you to the inaugural issue of Clinical Advances in Periodontics, a new online journal of the American Academy of Periodontology. As the title indicates, our mission is to translate research and knowledge into practical clinical applications. We intend for this publication to be one of the most innovative, authoritative, and widely read journals to assist multidisciplinary clinical teams in the long-term management of all aspects of periodontal disease. Clinical Advances in Periodontics is unique among online scientific journals because it uses dual publication platforms that give both the interactive capabilities of a digital journal and the features expected by readers and authors of peer-reviewed journals. With the page-turning digital edition, readers can download and print individual papers or the entire issue; access videos, supplemental images, and abstracts of cited references via links within the text; translate papers into another language; and forward content to colleagues and students for free access. Clinical Advances in Periodontics will also be available on joponline.org, thus offering all the functionality readers currently enjoy with the Journal of Periodontology as well as ensuring that individual articles can be found via search engines like Google. Tomeet our objective of translating research and knowledge into practical clinical applications, the content will be a mix of case reports and knowledge-based clinical decision-making papers. Leading universities worldwide use case-based education to train students at all levels. Case reports and case series have a high sensitivity for detecting new clinical phenomena and provide an efficient mechanism for communicating novel approaches to clinical management of complex cases. Many of us have learned a great deal from watching a master clinician manage periodontal surgical regeneration of bone and soft tissue along with esthetic reconstructions of the patient’s dentition. Clinical Advances in Periodontics provides a forum for these clinicians to share their knowledge and experience, and play an important role in continuing education. In addition to case-based learning, Clinical Advances in Periodontics seeks to advance the practical application of new knowledge through three types of clinical decisionmaking papers: Point-Counterpoint, Practical Applications, and Best-Evidence Topics. Since the format of Clinical Advances in Periodontics is graphic rich, authors will use tables, figures, and illustrations to highlight key points, and present a step-wise, algorithmic approach to diagnosis or treatment, when possible. Clinicians often must make diagnostic and treatment decisions before adequate published evidence provides a clear choice among options. Point-Counterpoint highlights a clinical controversy and helps focus the critical issues of a specific decision. These discussions are intended to assist clinicians who face the same situation and encourage researchers to generate evidence to resolve the controversy. When relevant, we will seek discussion of the cost and length of treatment to help clarify the benefits associatedwith alternative interventions to achieve a given health outcome. Clinicians often must decide which clinical approach is indicated in a given situation. Practical Applications Michael S. Reddy Kenneth S. Kornman