title: A training program to improve the ability of periodontal residents to estimate patients' pain experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to determine whether periodontal residents could enhance their ability to assess the pain levels experienced by their patients from probing, using visual analog scale (VAS) to record pain. We hypothesized that with increasing experience by repeated comparisons of the patients' VAS pain ratings with independent ratings by the residents, they would improve their ability to assess their patients' pain experiences.
  
  
  METHODS
  For each of three periodontal residents, 40 consecutive patients with periodontal disease were asked to express the degree of pain they experienced during the probing. Independently, the residents rated the pain levels they perceived that the patients experienced. Subsequently, the residents compared the two VAS ratings and discussed differences in ratings with the patients. Descriptive statistics and intraclass correlation coefficients were used to analyze the findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Differences between patients' and residents' VAS scores gradually became smaller over time for two of the residents. Results for the third resident were less compelling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicated that the training program improved the residents' ability to estimate the pain experiences of their patients, at least for two of the three participating residents. This training program, using periodontal probing as a model, could serve as an educational tool for students and practitioners who want to improve their sensitivity to their patients' pain experiences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA , USA.
authors.forename: Yoon Jeong
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tord
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lundgren
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abboud
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gallez
authors.forename: Hyoung Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bogle
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Egelberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000175:diagnosis; D010517:Periodontics / Q000193:education* / Q000295:instrumentation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric