Dental Education

Self-assessment is an integral component of learning and developing decision making and critical thinking skills in the practice of dental hygiene. Dental hygienists must think critically and develop problem-solving strategies during their formal education to ensure lifelong quality and ongoing development of their personal knowledge and skill as related to providing comprehensive, evidence-based patient care. The primary focus of this qualitative investigation was to obtain undergraduate dental hygiene students' perceptions of and experiences with self-assessment. The sample consisted of an intact undergraduate dental hygiene class of seventeen students in their final semester of a two-year, entry-level dental hygiene program at a community college in the southeast United States. Data for this research were obtained from three sources: 1) a program-designed self-assessment survey assignment, 2) in-depth interviews with four second-year dental hygiene students, and 3) program-de...

Using a sample of dental students (N=373) from four Canadian dental schools, this longitudinal study determined whether the new Canadian Dental Association (CDA) structured interview was a predictor of clinical and academic performance. The new interview predicted clinical performance in the third and fourth years of dental school, but not academic performance. The Canadian Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) continued to predict first- and second-year academic performance, but not clinical performance in the senior years. A personality factor, "Conscientiousness," predicted clinical and academic performance to various degrees across the four years of dental school. A second personality factor, "Openness to Experience," predicted third-year academic performance. The results suggest that a combination of scores from the DAT, a valid measure of personality, and a well-designed structured interview will provide the best prediction of those applicants who will do well in both...

Medical Education 2010: 44: 387–395Context  Elective courses are a significant part of undergraduate medical education throughout the world, but the value provided by these courses and the reasons for choosing particular elective courses have not been studied extensively.Objectives  The aim of this study was to investigate medical and dental students’ experiences of elective courses in undergraduate medical education in Croatia and to gather students’ recommendations for the improvement of elective courses.Methods  Medical and dental students studying under the Bologna curriculum were given a questionnaire in which they were asked for their opinions of elective courses and their suggestions as to how they might be improved. Data on elective courses were obtained from medical schools’ administrative offices.Results  The survey response rate was 92% (834/903). Medical students gave elective courses an average grade of 3.44 out of 5, whereas dental students gave a lower average of 3.15. Students’ suggestions for change included introducing more practical work and recognising international student exchanges and attendance at conferences as elective options. A third of students indicated that teachers should be given additional training in leading elective courses. Analysis of the curriculum showed that elective courses in Croatian medical schools are very heterogeneous in terms of their content and the number of credits and assessment methods they involve, and are very conservative in that only structured courses are offered. Students cannot design their own courses or take more elective courses than represent 10% of their total number of credits.Conclusions  Student opinion should be consulted when medical schools venture into the elective curriculum so that students can feel that they are really benefiting from these subjects. Students would welcome new and personally designed strands. Elective courses are a significant part of medical education and therefore their quality and purpose need to be assessed regularly in order to ensure that they meet students’ needs.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with serious health consequences. The association between diabetes and periodontal disease is well documented. However, the progression and healing of endodontic infections in diabetic patients has not been adequately studied. In this review, diabetes mellitus is explored as a potential modulating factor of endodontic pathosis. Recent data on the relationship between the clinical presentation of pulpal and periradicular disease, as well as the outcome of endodontic treatment in diabetic and nondiabetic patients, are presented. Diabetics who present for endodontic treatment, particularly those with periradicular pathosis, may have increased perioperative symptoms. Cases with preoperative periradicular lesions are less likely to be determined successful two years or longer postoperatively if the patient reports a history of diabetes. Studies examining the pathogenesis of periradicular lesions in mouse models with uncontrolled type 1 diabetes sugg...

An important objective of education is to improve clinical competence and hence confidence of students. Ample evidence on effectiveness of medical outreach programs is available but data pertaining to effectiveness of dental outreach, especially from developing countries, are still limited. The present study was undertaken to assess effectiveness of outreach placements on clinical confidence and communication skills of Indian dental students.

Transfer of knowledge from the basic biopsychosocial sciences to patient care is a major task for dental students during their education. Computer-based interactive patient simulations can help students affect this transfer because simulations allow students to develop and practice problem solving and decision-making skills interactively within the context of patient problems. A program for authoring computer-based interactive simulations is described. Patient simulations can effectively integrate basic science relevance, preparation for clinical problem solving, teaching new clinical content and several other necessary elements into curriculum infrastructure. Case simulations also can contribute to evolving educational standards set out by accrediting bodies.

Dental education on specific knowledge and intervention approaches for working with people living on welfare is crucial to the therapeutic success of the relationships dental professionals establish with this clientele. Despite growing attention to the importance of cultural competence and communication skills training in dentistry, very few initiatives have been documented in relation to serving low-income populations. Following discussions at a 2006 Montreal-based colloquium on access to dental care, academics, dental association administrators, and public health agency and antipoverty coalition representatives began collaborating to develop innovative pedagogy designed to increase providers' competence in interacting with their underprivileged patients. The group's first round of workshops (November 2006-October 2007) resulted in the creation of an original video-based tool containing testimonies from six individuals living currently or formerly on welfare. The videotaped...

East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine is responding to the changes in today's health care system by implementing an innovative model of community-based dental education that prepares tomorrow's dentists to meet North Carolina's future oral health challenges while also providing much-needed care in many underserved areas.

ABSTRACT : The root canal system is an arborizational, anastomotic, byzanthine, labyrinthine complexity, morphologically comparable to a mosaic. While primary canals exist, the tributaries, accessory branches and lumina of dentinal tubules harbour extensive tissue and microflora which if left untreated remains vector for persistent and refractory pathology. Therefore root canal  shaping and cleaning is of utmost importance in the success of root canal treatment. Number of systems are available for effective shaping accounting from hand files to nickel titanium rotary files to the new single file concept “WAVE ONE” KEYWORDS : Wave One, Reciprocating Motion, Nickel Titanium, Reverse  Balanced Force Technique, vCJD
| Dr VINEET VINAYAK| Dr VINEET VINAYAK|dr VINEET vinayak

The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry launched its new dental therapy program in September 2009 after the Minnesota state legislature had authorized the training and practice of a dental therapist in May of the same year. The creation of this mid-level dental provider is seen as a workforce solution to help address the problem of access to dental care experienced by some members of our society. However, there is a lack of consensus and even controversy in organized dentistry about dental therapy, one of the mid-level provider models. This study explored the attitudes and perceptions of dental school faculty members who have been tasked to prepare these new dental therapists to do their work. Focus groups were conducted with a randomly selected group of faculty members, the results of which were used to develop a survey of faculty members in all departments of the school. A total of 151 faculty members responded to the survey: 68 percent of these respondents were fifty-one ...

The Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center (PAETC) developed and tested over time a curriculum to meet the changed HIV/AIDS-related needs of dental health professionals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the HIV-related knowledge, attitudes/beliefs, and behaviors among the participants of a CE training course based on this curriculum, both before and six weeks after the completion of the course. The project recruited 106 participants who were dental health professionals over a ten and a half year period (1992-2003). The dental participants consisted of 79 percent dentists and 21 percent dental hygienists or dental assistants. The sample was 67 percent male, 33 percent female, 45 percent Caucasian, and 24 percent Asian. An adapted questionnaire was used before and after the training to assess the educational needs of the participants and evaluate the success of the program in meeting those needs. Approximately 81 percent of the participants completed both questionnaires...

This paper describes the curriculum design and enhancements of dental gross anatomy courses at three universities in North America. The greatest problem for gross anatomy faculty is making the regions of the body below the neck relevant to dental students for their future clinical education as well as the longer term dental practice. The proposed solutions demonstrated in the three courses range from satisfying the student's grade and test requirements, such as passing the anatomical sciences section of the National Board Dental Examination Part I, to making the material relevant to clinical dentistry. Strategies to increase relevance include incorporating clinical faculty into the gross anatomy course and integrating dental clinical material into the course. Lastly, pedagogical innovations include peer teaching, the use of the Internet and intranet for examination preparation, and the animation of dental procedures to illustrate relevant anatomy to dentistry.

Aims: To evaluate the self-perceived preparedness of final-year dental undergraduate students in dental public universities in Malaysia. Methods: Final-year dental undergraduate students from six dental public universities in Malaysia were invited to participate in an online study using a validated Dental Undergraduates Preparedness Assessment Scale DU-PAS. Results: In total, about 245 students responded to the online questionnaire yielding a response rate of 83.05%. The age range of the respondents was 23-29 years with a mean age of 24.36 (SD 0.797). The total score obtained by the respondents was ranged from 48 to 100 with a mean score of 79.56 (SD 13.495). Weaknesses were reported in several clinical skills, cognitive and behavioural attributes. Conclusions: The preparedness of undergraduate students at six dental institutions in Malaysia was comparable to students from developed countries. The dental undergraduate preparedness assessment scale is a useful tool, and dental institutions may be used for self-assessment as well as to obtain feedback from the supervisors. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Elastic Therapeutic Kinesio Taping (ETT or KT) has long become a therapeutic tool used to address symptoms in musculoskeletal, neurological and lymphatic conditions. A scoping review of studies was conducted to determine if ETT/KT has the potential to reduce post-surgical morbidity, trismus, oedema, trauma, pain and TMJ dysfunction in the dental and ENT clinics.
Poster presented at the Conference: ETTforSLP From Research to Clinic: International Conference for Speech Language Therapists about Elastic Therapeutic Tape in Warsaw Poland 30-11-2019

Dental school graduates have many options following graduation. Many are pursuing additional education and training by doing a residency program. As more graduates consider this career path, these programs have become more competitive. This study evaluates the competitiveness of match programs in dental residency programs by assessing data over a 9-year period for programs in the National Matching Service. The number of applicants participating in the match, number of positions offered, number of positions filled, and number of positions unfilled were analyzed for General Practice Residency (GPR), Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD), Oral Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS), Pediatric Dentistry (PED), Orthodontics (ORTHO) and Dental Anesthesiology (ANES). The result has been an overall increase in number of applicants for these programs. Based on positions offered, ORTHO, PED, and OMS are the most competitive programs. PED programs were the most competitive due to the increase in applicants and relatively unchanged available positions.

Dental schools are increasingly incorporating behavioral management strategies into the curriculum; however, little is known about the efficacy of this instruction. The purposes of this study were to evaluate student exposure to several categories of behavioral management techniques, assess student opportunity to observe faculty use of these techniques, and determine the extent of students' personal use of various behavioral management techniques. Third-year dental students (n=98, X age=26.52; s=4.05) were administered a survey assessing their exposure to and willingness to use behavioral management strategies. Results indicated differences between the techniques students recalled being taught and what they indicated they plan to use in their own future clinical practices. Student technique endorsement also varied as a function of student age, gender, ethnicity, and patient age. Despite increasing concerns regarding the use of these techniques, a significant minority of students...

An understanding of international dental education systems is critical for the education of foreign-trained dentists in U.S. dental programs. However, there is little information on this topic. This article provides information regarding 1) dental history, 2) dental school system, 3) curriculum/examination at dental school, and 4) dental licensure in India and Japan. There are 185 dental schools in India and twenty-nine in Japan. The number of first-year dental students is 12,872 and 2,647 in India and Japan, respectively. A five-year dental education, which includes 4,035 curriculum hours, leads to the B.D.S. degree in India, whereas a six-year dental education program, which includes 5,060 curriculum hours, leads to the D.D.S. degree in Japan. No undergraduate predental study is needed prior to entry into dental school in both countries. In India, the entrance examination is extremely competitive; however, there is no nationwide licensure examination. In Japan, dental schools use ...

Education being an open system undergoing changes from time to time, there is a current need to overcome the disparities and match the demands from all perspectives. The future dentists need to be trained in terms of critical thinkers and problem solvers and more as an oral physician who can work in an interdisciplinary fashion. They should be highly equipped with technology and evidence based dentistry. The next generation students training methods should also change to digitally equipped versions and social Medias need to be used as means of professional platform as well. Learner centred education in the form of choice based credit system can help the institutions to achieve the desired outcomes providing cafeteria approach to the learners. The future direction of dental education is to propose, implement and improve quality initiatives in each step of curricular process.

Purpose: To describe the development and opportunities for implementation of virtual teeth with and without pathology for use in a virtual learning environment in dental education. Material and methods: The creation of virtual teeth begins by scanning a tooth with a cone beam CT. The resulting scan consists of multiple two-dimensional grey-scale images. The specially designed software program ColorMapEditor connects these two-dimensional images to create a three-dimensional tooth. With this software, any aspect of the tooth can be modified, including its colour, volume, shape and density, resulting in the creation of virtual teeth of any type. Results: This article provides examples of realistic virtual teeth with and without pathology that can be used for dental education.ColorMapEditor offers infinite possibilities to adjust and add options for the optimisation of virtual teeth. Discussion: Virtual teeth have unlimited availability for dental students, allowing them to practise as often as required. Virtual teeth can be made and adjusted to any shape with any type of pathology. Further developments in software and hardware technology are necessary to refine the ability to colour and shape the interior of the pulp chamber and surface of the tooth to enable not only treatment but also diagnos-tics and thus create a greater degree of realism. Conclusion: The creation and use of virtual teeth in dental education appears to be feasible but is still in development; it offers many opportunities for the creation of teeth with various pathologies, although an evaluation of its use in dental education is still required.

Research has proliferated in recent years regarding the relationship of oral disease to systemic conditions. Specifically, periodontal disease has been studied as a potential risk factor for multiple conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and adverse pregnancy outcomes, while other research focuses on exposures or behaviors associated with oral disease. However, few articles have been published reporting how this information is integrated into schools of dentistry, both in the classroom and clinical curriculum. For our study, a thirty-three-item survey and cover letter were electronically mailed to academic deans at sixty-five accredited dental schools in the United States and Canada in the fall of 2007. The response rate was 77 percent. According to the responses to this survey, the primary topics covered in the didactic curriculum regarding periodontal oral-systemic disease are aging, CVD, diabetes, and tobacco use. Eighty-eight percent of the respondents reported that th...

For any treatment plan to succeed, two factors are paramount correct selection and application of pharmacologic agents and patient compliance. But what happens when both these are followed judiciously, but the medicine itself does not stay long enough to finish its action? Then we need something that will make the medicine stick literally. That is when bioadhesives have their say. Long-term adhesion of drugs to the oral mucosa is usually prevented by the continuous salivary flow and the mechanical movements of the tongue. Therefore, formulations acting as vehicle for local drug delivery to the oral mucosa need to have excellent mucoadhesive properties. The present article reviews mucoadhesive systems with various formulations that can be used in dentistry to improve local drug delivery.

Competency-based education (CBE) in dental hygiene education is intended to measure learned skills that prepare students to independently provide services for the public. A variety of standardized clinical assessment techniques (SCATs) are available to substantiate the competence of health care professionals, including, but not limited to, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), triple jump exams, standardized patients, and simulations. Standardized clinical examinations test students' abilities to treat diverse patients in a consistent, controlled setting. SCATs help prepare clinicians to safely treat patients of various complexities. The objectives of this study were to examine the variety of techniques used to assess clinical competence in U.S. accredited dental hygiene programs and to obtain program directors' attitudes regarding clinic assessment, with a focus on how SCATs are used. An online survey collected data from 125 directors (48 percent response rate...

Aim To investigate the attitudes of general dental practitioners (GDPs) and endodontists in the UK towards management of fractured endodontic instruments.Methodology A questionnaire was sent to 330 systemically selected GDPs and all endodontists working in the UK (170). It was accompanied by a covering letter explaining the aims of the study and indicating that all the information given would remain confidential. Those who did not respond to the first mailing were sent another two mailings. Data were analysed using chi-square test at P ≤ 0.05.Results The overall response rate was 75%. Only 18.5% of respondents reported that they would retrieve instruments located in the apical third of root canals with a significantly higher proportion of endodontists (25.9%) compared with that of GDPs (14%) doing so. A significantly higher proportion of endodontists (98.5%) used ultrasonics for removal of fractured instruments compared with GDPs (75.8%). The most common complication of fractured instrument retrieval was thought to be excessive removal of dentine (67%). The majority of respondents (88.5%) reported that they would leave the unsuccessfully removed file in situ and obturate the root canal.Conclusion Both endodontists and GDPs were aware of the limitations of root canal anatomy when removal of fractured instruments was considered. Excessive removal of dentine, the most common complication associated with the removal process, suggests the need for more conservative techniques. Both endodontists and GDPs demonstrated a conservative approach when management of fractured instruments failed. Further studies regarding attitudes of GDPs and endodontists towards some specific aspects of fractured instruments management are required.