The morbidity and mortality conference: a case assessment tool, quality control measure, and teaching method.

The morbidity and mortality conference and other traditions in hospital-based training inculcate the habits of understanding evidence and its clinical application and being able to articulate these to one's peers and to learn from unanticipated outcomes. By contrast, predoctoral dental training and the environment of general dental practice do not encourage collegial reflection on the outcomes of practice. Benefits and cautions in applying the habits learned through M&M conferences are discussed for both the oral and maxillofacial and the general practice settings.