United States Dental Schools Research Articles

Relationships between women in leadership at predoctoral and senior administration levels in United States dental schools.

To determine the relationship between woman leadership at senior administrative and predoctoral levels in United States (US) dental schools and assess if this relationship is affected by school characteristics. A 23-question survey was created and distributed to each US accredited dental school (2023). Data regarding the gender of the school's dean, senior administrators, and student leaders, as well as school characteristics were gathered. Data were organized in Excel. Descriptive statistics were performed using mean and standard deviation for continuous measures and using count and percent for categorial measures. Statistical comparisons were performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), Fisher's Exact, or Chi-squared tests for comparison of proportions. 32 dental schools provided analyzable data for this project (44.4% response rate). The most common senior administrative position held by a woman was the dean of student affairs (71.9%). For every surveyed school with a woman dean (n=11, 34.4%), at least one other senior administrative position was held by a woman. There was no statistical significance between the year of school establishment, geographic region, gender of the dean, or prevalence of women administrators and students in leadership roles. The number of women students in leadership roles was close to the national enrollment trends for gender. Included US dental school data showed no relationship between women in leadership at the senior administrative and predoctoral levels. To keep leadership-minded students interested in dental academics throughout their careers, further studies are needed to identify the most important factors influencing careers in academic dentistry.

Prevalence of Teaching Apical Patency and Various Instrumentation and Obturation Techniques in United States Dental Schools: Two Decades Later

IntroductionMaintaining apical patency has been advocated to minimize canal transportation, ledge formation, and loss of working length, despite increasing debris extrusion. A previous study in 1997 by Cailleteau and Mullaney reported 50% of United States dental schools taught patency. This present study aimed to evaluate recent trends in endodontic education in United States dental schools, in relation to the prevalence of maintaining apical patency and examining the primary methods of working length determination, instrumentation, obturation, and temporization. MethodsA survey of 20 questions was distributed to 65 schools via e-mail and was available from July 2021 to September 2021. ResultsSeventy-three percent of the 46 responding schools reported that they teach patency, with 8% of this number reporting that they do so exclusively to endodontic residents. Notably, a significantly lower number of schools reported teaching patency exclusively to endodontic students compared with the Cailleteau and Mullaney study despite a significantly higher percentage of schools teaching patency overall. The most common method used to determine working length was an electronic apex locator at the 0.5 reading. Vortex Blue was the most commonly used file system used by both predoctoral and postdoctoral programs. Lateral condensation was the primary obturation technique taught in predoctoral programs, whereas warm vertical condensation was the primary obturation technique in postdoctoral programs. The study also found that 57% of schools reported using intraorifice barriers, and the most common temporary filling was glass ionomer. ConclusionsA greater portion of schools teaches patency compared with the previous study in 1997. The data collected in this survey may serve as a baseline for similar studies in the future regarding changes in endodontic education over time.

Profile of prosthodontics program directors in North America.

To develop a current profile of prosthodontics program directors in United States dental schools and describe the current challenges and responsibilities of those serving in the position and assess the professional needs of the program directors to better support them in their roles. A survey was sent to 51 participants who were identified as prosthodontics program directors in North America via Qualtrics in 2019 to assess the professional needs of program directors to better support their roles. The survey consisted of 29 items organized into six sections: 1) demographic information; 2) hours and time spent in various areas of the job; 3) greatest challenges; 4) perceived importance of specific competencies; 5) opinions on the greatest rewards of the position, and 6) their needs for support from the American College of Prosthodontists and advice for the future program director. The response rate for this survey was 88.3%. Of the 45 respondents, the majority were white/non-Hispanic, followed by Asian/Pacific Islanders. The two largest and equal numbers of participants who worked for more than 10 years and between 1 to 3 years were observed with approximately 29% each, and program directors who worked less than a year occupied the least amount. 34% of program directors are on the tenure track and 80% of those are tenured. Teaching and clinical services took away the greatest time with approximately 42% and 22.1% respectively. Thirty-five (78%) program directors listed the greatest challenge they encountered was the workload of the role. Skills listed in leadership and personnel competencies were all rated more important than most of the skills listed in management. There is a wide gender gap and a lack of racial diversity among the prosthodontics program directors. The biggest challenge faced by them is the amount of workload followed by budget and fiscal constraints. And for their improved efficiency, they gave emphasis on learning time management and continuous clinical training of newer advances. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Complete Denture – Border Molding Technique Using a Laboratory Condensation Silicone Putty: Review

During the fabrication of a complete denture, functional impression is taken. Literature studies show that polydimethylsiloxane (condensation silicone) has not been reported by United States dental schools to perform border molding. Thus, the purpose of this article is to review the functional impression technique when border molding is performed with a laboratory condensation silicone putty.

Resin Composite Versus Amalgam Restorations Placed in United States Dental Schools.

To investigate the latest teaching policies for posterior resin composite placement versus amalgam and to determine the actual numbers of posterior resin composites versus amalgam restorations placed in American dental schools from 2008 to 2018. Emails were sent to the deans of all 66 dental schools in the United States to collect data in the forms of: 1) Questionnaire on current teaching policies of posterior composite and amalgam restorations; and 2) Data entry form to collect the actual numbers of posterior composite and amalgam restorations placed in their clinics. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize ratios of posterior restorations. Inferential analysis (chi-square test and z-test) was employed to compare posterior restoration proportions over time and within each year. Level of significance was set at 0.05. For the teaching questionnaire, the response rate was 52% (n=34). Seventy-six per cent of the responding schools reported that they assign 50% or more of their preclinical restorative teaching time towards posterior resin composite placement, while 50% of the responding schools devoted 25% or less towards amalgam teaching. Data entry response rate was 26% (n=17). In 2008, amalgam and resin composite restorations were placed almost equally. However, resin composite restorations were placed significantly more frequently from 2009 onwards in all responding schools. The results revealed a significant ongoing increasing trend in placing posterior resin composites in all responding schools over time (p<0.05). Data analysis revealed a clear trend towards an increase in posterior resin composite restoration placement and a decrease in the number of amalgam restorations. However, the time assigned for posterior resin composite teaching is not aligned with quantity of restorations placed. Review and adjustment of the time allocated for teaching and training of each material are suggested.

Characteristics of students in International Dentist Training Programs versus applicants who are not yet successful in matriculating.

For foreign-trained dentists who seek requalification in United States dental schools, the acceptance rate is half that of applicants to traditional 4-year DDS/DMD programs. Unsuccessful applicants also lack clarity on how to strengthen their re-application. This is a comparison of foreign-trained dentists who successfully matriculated into the University of Michigan's advanced standing program and prospective students who have yet to matriculate into any advanced standing program. We collected data through a survey on the website of the University of Michigan program for foreign-trained dentists-the Synergy Program is tuition-free and helps International Dental Program (IDP) applicants navigate the application process. Secondly, we surveyed those enrolled in the University of Michigan's IDP. We compared various characteristics of these two groups. Thirdly, we convened focus groups among the University of Michigan IDP and had unstructured discussions about barriers faced by internationally trained dentists in entering an IDP. University of Michigan Medical School Committee on Human Studies determined this research is "not regulated". There were 2400 unique visitors to the Synergy website. Among respondents, 1490 were female (62.1%). A total of 10.1% reported spending over $30,000 on strengthening their application. There were 38 individuals (out of a possible 60) in the University of Michigan's IDP who responded to the survey and 28 were female (73.7%). A total of 31.6% reported spending more than $30,000 on strengthening their application. We had focus groups with 12 IDP students. Regarding perceived differences that led to acceptance, all participants described the advantage in having a greater familiarity with American culture. We found that those from wealthier households, those who are willing to spend more on their application process, and those who obtained an additional US degree were more likely to be matriculants in IDPs.

Do Mission Statements Matter? An Evaluation of Dental School Mission Statements

Objective: In private enterprise, the Mission Statement (MS) of a company is the compass that shows the direction the organization is heading and is a guide in major decisions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the mission statements of all United States (US) Dental Schools for common themes and to understand how these themes align with current issues in dentistry. Methods: Two reviewers manually searched every United States (US) Dental School website to identify the mission statement of each school and four investigators reviewed the mission statements, identified and listed themes. A qualitative analytical approach was used, and recurring themes were identified. IRB Exemption was provided (HUM00175583Â) by the University of Michigan School of Medicine’s committee on human studies. Results: In this study, 68 dental schools were evaluated, and 18 different themes were identified. The mean number of themes per school was 2 and the median was 4. The minimum number of themes among dental schools was 1 and the maximum was 11 themes. The findings indicated that the most recurring theme in dental school mission statements was research and dissemination of knowledge (76.11%) and the least recurring themes, which are some of the most pressing issues in dentistry were social justice (4.47%), public health (7.46%), and health disparities (8.95%). Conclusion: Missions statements are just as important in schools as they are in business. Therefore, dental schools should consider periodically revising their mission statements to coincide with the demands of current oral health needs.

YouTube use among dental students for learning clinical procedures: A multi-institutional study.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of YouTube as a learning tool for clinical procedures among third- and fourth-year dental students. A multiple choice survey was distributed through Qualtrics to third- and fourth-year dental students at 5 United States dental schools. Questions pertaining to YouTube use were asked related to the following categories: demographic information, general YouTube use, YouTube use as a tool to learn clinical procedures, YouTube video sharing, and validity. Descriptive and quantitative analyses were performed. Data were collected in 2019 and 2020 from 479 third- and fourth-year dental students (overall response rate 28.3%). Respondents ranged in age from under 23 to over age 50. Ninety-five percent of respondents considered YouTube videos on clinical procedures to be a helpful learning tool, and 89% would like for their dental school to post tutorials to YouTube/social media. No statistically significant differences were found between dental institutions; however, a statistically significant difference between third- and fourth-year students did exist regarding the frequency of YouTube use. While the use of YouTube as a learning tool for clinical procedures is high, 36% of students are uncertain about the evidence-base of the videos. As dental students use publicly available resources as adjuncts to the dental curriculum, it is important to analyze the quality of the material accessed. These findings may suggest a need for dental institutions to increase the development of evidence-based instructional videos as a part of their clinical educational curriculums.

The COVID-19 pandemic: implications for dental education.

Aim This narrative review aims to report on the impacts of COVID-19 on the provision of dental education in the 67 dental schools in the United States (US). Having set the scene and current challenges, it aims to suggest some strategies to overcome the issues facing dental schools going forward.Background In the US the Occupational Safety and Health Administration classified dentists in the very high risk category because of the potential for exposure to the virus as a result of aerosol generating procedures (AGP). In the last 20 years there have been two previous outbreaks of coronaviruses (severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome) which resulted in no long-term changes in the provision of dental education. The recent paper from Wuhan, China described action in the height of the infection but no sustainable actions to deliver dental education going forward.Challenges The challenges identified include: protecting the health of students, faculty and staff; ensuring the continuity and quality of dental education; ensuring confidence in health and safety measures; and keeping up with guidance. There is some variation across the US but most schools have suspended clinical teaching and implemented stay at home policies. Others have implemented social distancing in laboratories including clinical skills. The final challenge is ensuring that students have the teaching, experience and are assessed to ensure the competency of the graduating student.Solutions Technology in teaching and learning offers many opportunities. For didactic teaching distance learning has been implemented. There are 'off the shelf' programmes for teaching and assessment. The development of bespoke content is time consuming and one solution is for schools to share material. Although still requiring social distancing, manikins and haptics offer some opportunities for skills training. The need for excellent information sharing with faculty and students is emphasised.Conclusion Schools should re-evaluate their policies and curricula and incorporate appropriate methods of distance learning permanently into their teaching. Students should have outreach and multi-professional support in order to allow them to assist in the community during public health crises. Finally, gaps have been identified in US dental schools preparedness for pandemics.

Survey of United States dental schools on cementation protocols for implant crown restorations

With conflicting results in the literature and various manufacturer recommendations, it is not known what cementation protocols are currently being used for implant restorations in US dental schools. The purpose of this survey was to determine what dental cementation protocols are taught and recommended by 62 US dental schools and postgraduate programs. From February to September 2008, 96 questionnaires consisting of 8 questions were sent to the chairperson or director of restorative departments, advanced prosthodontics programs, and implant programs. The questionnaire asked recipients which implant manufacturers provided the products used at their dental schools. Additionally, recipients were queried as to the choice of material and techniques for abutment and restoration preparations prior to definitive cementation. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. A total of 68 (71%) surveys were returned, and 52 (84%) of the 62 predoctoral and postgraduate programs were represented. After deleting duplicate responses, 31 surveys were returned from restorative department chairpersons, 29 from advanced prosthodontic program directors, and 2 from implant program directors. Frequency of responses to each question was tabulated, and results are presented in 3 sections. For all 3 types of programs, Nobel Biocare was reported to be the most widely used implant system, followed by Biomet 3i, Straumann, Astra Tech, and Zimmer Dental systems. The most commonly used technique prior to definitive cementation is to airborne-particle abrade the intaglio surface of the restoration. Resin-modified glass ionomer is the most frequently used luting agent for cementing implant restorations. The 5 most commonly used materials to fill screw access openings are cotton pellets, composite resin, rubber-based material, gutta-percha, and light-polymerized provisional composite resin. Most predoctoral and postgraduate programs teach students to fill the screw access opening completely to the occlusal surface. There are a wide range of implant cementation protocols and materials used; however, some common trends were identified among predoctoral and postgraduate programs.

Faculty Credentialing: A Survey of Forty‐Six U.S. Dental Schools

This study was undertaken in June of 2005 to evaluate the status of credentialing of clinical faculty in United States dental schools. A short survey on the process of credentialing was developed and emailed or mailed to all clinical deans. The survey contained a standard definition of health professional credentialing to which the respondent was to compare his or her school's procedures. Of the forty-six respondents, only 46 percent were conducting credentialing as defined on the survey. Recredentialing of clinical faculty was occurring in most of these schools; however, 23 percent did not report a process of recredentialing. Each institution required different items in its credentialing application: 95 percent required information on licensure; 86 percent, educational background; 67 percent, academic appointments; and 67 percent, specialty board status, among other items that were included at lower rates. Health status was only requested by 29 percent of the institutions. Only 34 percent of those institutions doing credentialing verified the data collected during the application process. Given the legal implications of adverse outcomes, prudent risk management calls for a strong credentialing program. Results of this survey indicate the need for an ongoing effort to standardize credentialing procedures among dental schools and to select appropriate data to be included in the process.

Trends of oral medicine education in US dental schools: A pilot survey

Objectives. The needs and demands of oral medicine services in the United States have increased dramatically in the last few years.1Miller C.S. Hall E. Falace D. Jacobson J. Lederman D. Seguelman A. Need and demand for oral medicine services in 1996.Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 1997; 84: 630-634Google Scholar However, oral medicine has not yet been recognized by the American Dental Association as a specialty. The overall staffing approach taken to teach oral medicine varies according to each dental school. One of the difficulties for oral medicine to be recognized as a dental specialty is the lack of uniformity and homogeneity of course content across the different curricula. The purpose of this abstract is to present and analyze baseline information across US dental schools and identify implications and future directions related to the number of teaching faculty, open clinical positions, the administrative location of oral medicine and the topic areas being taught. Study design. This study included a survey sent to all of the 56 United States dental schools. Using the websites made available by each dental school, we located the individual e-mail of the chairman, director(s), and/or division chief of oral medicine. We then submitted 2 different form e-mails which contained the survey regarding trends in oral medicine. The e-mails were separated by 2 weeks to allow adequate response time. Responses were then gathered and analyzed. The survey included 10 questions:1.The number of faculty teaching Oral Medicine?2.Formal training in (Oral Medicine, GPR, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, General Dentist, Other)?3.Is your program a residency or fellowship?4.Are there any open positions in Oral Medicine in your department/division right now?5.Is the Oral Medicine area at your school a department, division or other?6.Board eligible or Board certified?7.What are the areas of focus in your Oral Medicine department/division?8.What are the areas/topics of Oral Medicine that are taught?9.Describe your institution and its location?10.Other information regarding your program you would care to share? Results. 56 e-mails were sent. Six e-mails returned to the sender with problems in the e-mail address. The overall response was 60% (30 responses). In 56% of the responders between 2 and 3 faculty are directly involved in teaching oral medicine. Fourteen percent reported no faculty teaching oral medicine. In 66.7% of the schools that answered the survey, 1-2 faculty are formally trained in oral medicine; 26% of the schools listed no one as formally trained in oral medicine. In 43% of the schools between 1 and 2 faculty have been trained in a GPR program. In 16% of the schools 1 oral surgeon is involved in teaching oral medicine. In 40% of the schools oral pathologists are responsible to teach oral medicine. Regarding topic areas that are covered (focus of oral medicine), in 41% the main component is the medically compromised patient, followed by oral lesions (37%), orofacial pain (17%) and pharmacology (3%). For the areas/topics of oral medicine that are taught, medically compromised patient occupied the majority of first-choice responses with a rate of 86.7%, followed by treatment and management of oral lesions and orofacial pain. Conclusions. The results of this survey indicate that the backgrounds of the faculty teaching oral medicine in US dental schools are mixed, and the backgrounds of the faculty are not necessarily only in oral medicine. From an administrative view, it is important to note that in some schools it is difficult to find specifically how oral medicine is integrated into the dental curriculum. This small pilot survey suggested that more studies are necessary to discover and define the actual status of the faculty trends and teaching of oral medicine in US dental schools. Further studies are also needed to include and compare data from different countries regarding the status of oral medicine.

U.S. and Canadian Dental School Involvement in Extramural Programming

This project was undertaken from July 1999 to August 2000 to identify the status of extramural programming (that is, a program that has undergraduate dental students providing any aspect of dental care to individuals in settings outside the main clinical facility of the school) in North American dental schools. A survey instrument was mailed to all United States and Canadian dental schools concerning student involvement in extramural programming. The response rate was 79.7 percent. Of the schools responding, 3.9 percent did not offer extramural programming. The type of extramural sites, the percentage of schools offering each type of site, and the mean number of weeks students are at each site were as follows: hospital clinics--71 percent, 2.5 weeks; public health clinics--65 percent, 6 weeks; schools and day care centers--49, 1.7 weeks; private dental offices--37 percent, 2 weeks; and "other"--29 percent, 2.5 weeks. The average number of weeks spent at extramural site(s) per class was: freshman 1.9 weeks (SD=4.3); sophomores 2.3 weeks (SD=4.2); juniors 2.6 weeks (SD=1.9); and seniors 5.3 weeks (SD=6.7). Of total student time in extramural programming, 43.3 percent was spent delivering basic clinical services, 24.4 percent comprehensive clinical services, 11.8 percent health education, 11.8 percent preventive dentistry, and 8.7 percent community activities. From the data collected it is apparent that the majority of North American dental schools are providing a variety of extramural experiences for their dental students. It was found that student involvement in extramural programming increases gradually from the freshman to the senior year.

The dental student as a technician: preclinical and clinical laboratory programs in fixed prosthodontics.

A 2-part survey of United States dental schools was conducted. The first part of the survey was published in 1998 and determined the curricular structure, techniques taught, and materials used in predoctoral fixed prosthodontics courses. The purpose of the second part of the survey was to ascertain the delegation of laboratory procedures in preclinical and clinical fixed prosthodontic programs. The survey was mailed to the course directors of predoctoral fixed prosthodontic programs at 53 US dental schools. Of these, 42 schools returned the completed survey, resulting in a response rate of 79%. Results from this survey show that certain laboratory procedures in preclinical and clinical fixed prosthodontics are completed by dental laboratories (either in-house or commercially available laboratories). For the preclinical programs of fixed prosthodontics, there is more student involvement in the completion of laboratory procedures in the dental schools surveyed. In clinical fixed prosthodontic programs, there is a high emphasis on patient care and less on laboratory techniques that can be delegated to laboratory technicians.

Exposures to blood and body fluids among dental school‐based dental health care workers

A survey of United States dental schools was conducted to determine the annual incidence of reported percutaneous and mucosal exposures to blood and other body fluids among dental school-based dental health care workers (DHCW). A response rate of 51.9 percent provided information on 10,433 DHCW and 1.6 million student clinic and 169,836 school-based faculty practice patient visits. This response represents approximately half of all DHCW and student clinic visits in U.S. dental schools in AY 1996/1997. A total of 652 exposures were reported, of which 629 occurred in student clinics. Dental schools averaged twenty-three reported exposures per year, and the overall annual reported exposure rate in student clinics was 4.0/10,000 patient visits and 1.3/10,000 in faculty practice. Dental students accounted for 62.5 percent of all reported exposures, a rate of 106.3/1000 students per year. The exposure rate for dental students was significantly greater that any other category of DHCW. Expressed in terms of person years, an exposure rate of 0.17 was comparable to that reported for dental schools but considerably less than found in other dental care settings. A second survey directed to individual DHCW drew responses from only 8.3 percent of the 10,433 DHCW. Among these respondents, 31 percent of those acknowledging an exposure reported it. A judgment that the injury was not serious, the time necessary to report an exposure, and a belief that the patient was healthy were the primary reasons for not reporting. The results of this study provide dental schools with benchmarks for comparing their reported exposure experience and assessing programs intended to prevent and manage exposures.

Prevalence of teaching apical patency and various instrumentation and obturation techniques in united states dental schools

Maintaining an open apex beyond the apical constriction with an endodontic file during canal instrumentation is a concept that has been advocated by several authors and clinicians. To ascertain the prevalence of teaching the patency concept as well as various instrumentation and obturation techniques in the United States dental schools, a survey was conducted. Forty-eight out of a total of 53 dental schools (91%) responded to the survey. Results indicate that 50% of the schools surveyed teach the concept of patency to their undergraduates or graduates or both; 83% teach a step-back instrumentation technique; and 89.6% teach lateral condensation of gutta percha as their primary obturation technique.

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION IN IMPLANT DENTISTRY

A special interest group meeting devoted to clinical educational programs in implant dentistry for undergraduate students was held in March 1994 at the annual session of the American Association of Dental Schools in Seattle, Washington. Summaries of the presentations of representatives from three United States dental schools and the moderator's introductory remarks are included in this article.

Clinic educational management systems in United States and Canadian dental schools

Clinic educational management systems in United States and Canadian dental schools

A survey of faculty practice plans in United States and Canadian dental schools

A survey of faculty practice plans in United States and Canadian dental schools

The involvement of United States dental schools in international dental education

The involvement of United States dental schools in international dental education