Australian dental journal
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A regional review of oral health in the Pacific showed the major problems to be dental caries, periodontal diseases, poor dental health service management and lack of appropriate dental personnel. A strategy for training appropriate dentists to manage oral health services in the Pacific was suggested. ⋯ The training programme for dentists must be career-ladder, problem-based, and community-oriented with competency-based learning of a spiral of tasks with increasing sophistication. The curriculum content must contain about 50 percent on public health and clinical aspects, respectively.