Integrating community service learning in undergraduate dental education: A controlled trial in a residential facility for people with intellectual disabilities.

Abstract

The present report describes an oral health promotion project in a residential facility for people with intellectual disabilities as a strategy to implement community service learning in undergraduate dental education. Two undergraduate students developed a project aimed to improve the oral health in residents with intellectual disabilities by educating caregivers. The impact was investigated by a pretest-posttest design, evaluating residents' plaque and gingival indexes and caregivers' knowledge, behavior, attitude, and self-efficacy. Findings demonstrated that within a semester, it was possible for students to obtain a limited but positive impact on the local community. Based on the experiences at Ghent University, the following guidelines were suggested to implement service learning in a dental curriculum that renders both a positive impact on student learning and the local community : (1) integrate community service learning in multiple years in the curriculum; (2) use a stepwise approach from theory to exercises to extramural experiences; (3) create a partnership with a local organization; (4) organize long-term projects and annual follow-up to increase the impact; (5) involve supervisors from both the university and the local organization; and (6) establish an evidence based approach to benefit the quality of projects and to facilitate students to develop research competences.