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The clinical
decision-making process in dentistry can be
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divided into
three separate phases
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Differences
in dentists’ decision making that results in
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variation
can arise within any of these three phases
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| n |
1. diagnosis, or more usually the detection
phase,
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where a disease
is identified
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| n |
2. the decision about intervention, given
that a
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disease or
condition is identified
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– |
Usually a yes/no
decision, although dentists
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routinely
indicate uncertainty by noting in the
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patient record
that a condition by “watched”
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| n |
3. selection of the treatment from among
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alternatives, if
a decision to intervene is made
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