Audit in restorative dentistry.

Auditing activity requires patient data to be collected and analysed to allow comparisons to be made and conclusions drawn. Within the General Dental Services the Dental Practice Board regularly collects practitioner specific clinical data and distributes this to allow dentists to compare their own clinical activity with local and national means. In hospital dentistry, a software package has been developed to enable orthodontic audit to be performed in hospital practice. The package is now being piloted in several centres. A similar software package is required for auditing restorative dentistry activity in units where consultant services are provided. Hospital patient administration systems provide demographic data and appointment systems predominantly with little opportunity for patient specific clinical analysis. Carefully designed software will allow appropriate clinical data and analysis. To ensure compliance and accurate recording both by clinical and support staff it is essential that any software system should be easy to use.