Dr. David Sarment, periodontist and pilot, uses checklist methodology to reduce medical errors, published in The Journal of the American Dental Association
Dr. David Sarment, periodontist with Sarment & Associates, announced the publication of “Adaptation of Airline Crew Resource Management Principles to Dentistry” in the prestigious The Journal of the American Dental Association. Sarment & Associates is located at the Alexandria Professional Center, 4660 Kenmore Avenue.
Dr. Sarment is a licensed pilot. He co-authored the report with Dr. Russell Taichman, University of Michigan dentistry professor and director of the Scholars Program in Dental Leadership; and Dr. Harold Pinsky, a full-time airline pilot who also practices general dentistry. The authors conclude that pilots and dentists have more in common than one might think. The authors developed a methodology for implementing a checklist of safety procedures in dental offices. Similar to procedures used in airlines, Dr. Sarment and his colleagues contend this will drastically reduce human errors and improve patient safety and care.
“Using these checklists has led to a safer and more standardized routine of dental surgery in my practice,” said Sarment, who specializes in dental implants, gum drafting, treating gum disease, sedation dentistry and cosmetic dental procedures.
At each of five stages of the dental visit, the dental team is responsible for checking safety items off a codified Crew Resource Management list before proceeding. This methodology empowers team members to actively participate to enhance safety by using forward thinking strategies. Airlines implemented CRM about 30 years ago, after recognizing that most accidents resulted from human error.
This represents a major culture shift that the authors believe is inevitable. “It’s about communication,” Pinsky said. “If I’m doing a restoration and my assistant sees saliva leaking, in the old days the assistant would think to themselves, ‘the doctor is king, he or she must know what’s going on.’ But if all team members have a CRM checklist, the assistant is empowered to tell the doctor if he or she sees a problem. Instead of the doctor saying, ‘Don’t ever embarrass me in front of a patient again,’ they’ll say,” Pinsky said.
Studies show that CRM works. As reported in The Journal of American Dental Association report, the six government studies of airlines using CRM suggest safety improvements as high as 46 percent. Another study involving six large corporate and military entities showed accidents decreased by as much as 81 percent after implementing CRM.
“Perhaps most importantly, in surgical settings, use of checklists has reduced complications and deaths by 36 percent. Many other industries, including hospitals, emergency rooms and nuclear plants are looking to the airline industry to help craft CRM programs,” said Dr. Sarment.
Next, Dr. Sarment and his colleagues plan to design a small clinical trial in the University of Michigan dental school to test CRM.
Dr. Sarment is the author of the Manual of Dental Implants, a popular textbook used in many dental schools. He has also written book chapters on dental implants and periodontal disease. Dr. Sarment has had many scientific articles published in dental and periodontal journals, and he lectures on these topics all over the world.
Sarment & Associates are experts in dental implants and treating periodontal disease. The practice is on the leading edge of process, as well as technology. They recently announced that their office is now equipped with a state of the art, three-dimensional Cone Beam Computed Tomography scanner.