Years Of Dental Education Research Articles

Turkish Dental Students’ and Dentists’ Ability to Assess Gingival Health Status with DAAGS Software

The aim of this study was to compare the ability of final-year Turkish dental students and dentists to assess the level of gingival health status by using the Development of Ability to Assess Gingival Status (DAAGS) computer program. Forty-eight students in their final year of dental education and 240 dentists participated in DAAGS tests in which they judged twenty-four photos. The participants were organized into one group of students and five groups of dentists: those who graduated in the last five years, in the last six to ten years, in the last eleven to fifteen years, in the last sixteen to twenty years, and twenty and/or more years ago. A gold standard of each photo was shown to participants after they completed test 1; then, test 2 was conducted immediately. Participants were asked to evaluate the DAAGS by written survey. There were significant differences between the parameters of two tests for all groups. Significance levels differed for each group and both tests considering correct answers, reproducibility, irrelevant answers, and overall ability. The findings from this study indicated that the DAAGS software is easier for more recently graduated dentists to use.

Social nicotine dependence in Australian dental undergraduate students

This study aimed to investigate dental undergraduate students' tobacco usage and social nicotine dependence in Australia. A special interest was to identify the role of factors such as age, gender, year of dental education and cohabitants' smoking status for social nicotine dependence. A sample of 252, first-to-fifth year undergraduate students in an Australian dental school was used. Each completed a self-administered questionnaire. The smoking rate was 4.8%. Current smokers displayed higher social nicotine dependence than those that had never smoked (t=3.1, df=244, P=0.002). Dental undergraduate students that showed higher social nicotine dependence (P=0.001, OR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.1-1.6), or that had smoking cohabitants (P=0.016, OR=4.8, 95% CI: 1.3-17.0), were more likely to smoke. Students' social nicotine dependence increased with year of dental study (P=0.043, β=0.4, t=2.0). Social nicotine dependence enhanced tobacco usage among Year-1-to-4 students (P=0.005, OR=1.4, 95% CI: 1.1-1.7) but not Year-5 undergraduates (P=0.432). Social nicotine dependence has become a developing issue in dental education. Tobacco control should be highlighted in the dental curriculum. Future investigations into the effects of dental education on social nocotine dependence and tobacco usage are indicated.

A Model for an Integrated Predoctoral Implant Curriculum: Implementation and Outcomes

The implementation of an implant dental curriculum in U.S. dental schools has been consistently increasing from 33 percent in 1974 to 97 percent in 2004. Among these, only 51 percent have clinical components implemented. A survey of students conducted in 2004 at New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) showed an inadequacy in clinical implant restoration experience by graduation. This prompted the development of an extensive dental implant curriculum at NYUCD to meet the needs of the dental students. This report addresses the challenges in implementing such a curriculum and describes a step-by-step approach to develop a program that encompasses didactic, simulation, and patient care components. In 2005, a fully integrated predoctoral implant curriculum was initiated. In 2008, nearly all of the NYUCD students (91.8 percent) completed implant restorations/prosthesis on patients. An assessment revealed a 30 percent increase in students' positive perceptions of the implant curriculum. Based on our experiences at NYUCD, it is recommended that an implant curriculum become part of the core predoctoral curriculum and be integrated throughout the four years of dental education. This article reports on a model for a pre-doctoral implant curriculum, which includes planning, curriculum implementation, program management, and post-implementation stages. Using this model, dental schools can develop implant education for their students that is adapted to their institutional missions, priorities, and resources.

Undergraduate outreach for the whole team

During more than forty years of dental education in the UK it has been possible to witness a dynamic evolution. The training and education of any dental workforce must be directed towards the needs and demands of its stakeholders. These stakeholders include the population to which oral healthcare is directed, students, dental professionals, the purchasers of healthcare, those funding dental education, and competition from abroad.

The Effect of NIDCR R25 Grant Support on the Curriculum and Culture of a Research Non-intensive Dental School

Our objective was to evaluate changes in curriculum and culture within a research non-intensive dental school after implementation of programs supported by the NIH-NIDCR R25 Oral Health Research Curriculum Grant. We designed new curricular elements to foster an appreciation of research/discovery, an interest in academic/research careers, and application of biomedical/clinical advances to patient care. Funding was utilized to develop, implement, and assess a dedicated curricular track of continuous student research/scholarly activity throughout the four years of dental education. This track represented mandatory hours of didactic time exposing students to topics not traditionally included in dental curricula. Additionally, students were provided with customized flexible schedules to participate in elective "hands-on" mentored research/scholarly experiences at local, national, and international sites, including linkages to certificate, MS, and PhD programs. Funding was also used to support a wide array of faculty development activities that provided skill sets required to deliver integrated biomedical/clinical content, research-oriented evidence-based approaches to dental education, and translational case-based teaching methods emphasizing the application of new science/technologies to patient care. We measured changes in student, faculty, and institutional profiles/attitudes using traditional benchmarks, surveys, and focus groups. Comparisons were made between baseline data prior to R25 program initiation and data collected after years 3-4 of program implementation. Significant increases were demonstrated in: (1) student participation in research/scholarship, attendance at national meetings, research awards, publication of manuscripts, pursuit of advanced training/degrees, and expressions of interest in academic/research careers; (2) faculty participation in development activities, publication of manuscripts, and mentoring of students; and (3) increased institutional credibility within the university, supportive infrastructure for research/scholarship, and cultural expectations for academic excellence. Thus, we believe that the R25 programming changed the culture of our dental school, creating a supportive environment for research/scholarship, increasing academic productivity, and altering the attitudes of faculty/students.

Use and Perceived Effectiveness of Student Support Services in a First‐Year Dental Student Population

The purpose of this study was to determine the severity of problems common to the first year of dental school and to assess the use and perceived effectiveness of formal and informal peer and professional support programs in addressing those problems. First-year students at one California dental school were surveyed on the severity of problems encountered, support services used, and perceived effectiveness of services. Results indicated that the problems perceived as most serious by students in this sample were of an emotional nature relating to academic performance. Findings showed that students relied heavily on themselves and on informal advice from peers to handle problems and that they perceived these resources to be very effective. Findings also showed that low-ranking students used both formal and informal resources to resolve problems and that females used resources outside of the school more than males did. Results of the study offer some evidence to support providing both formal and informal peer and faculty support programs for first-year dental students. Results also provide insight into the use of peers and "self" to resolve problems common to the first year of dental education.

The 2004 Talmage Read Lecture: 'One hundred years of dental education in Leeds' Given on 16 October 2004, Leeds Dental Institute, University of Leeds

Thank you very much for inviting me to give the Talmage Read Lecture, on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Leeds Dental School and Hospital. Professor Read obviously had a major impact on the Leeds Dental School. (Fig. 1)

Preserving the Pipeline: A Model Dental Curriculum for Research Non‐Intensive Institutions

Current advanced degree and research training programs no longer attract adequate numbers of students. The present system of dental education severely limits the appeal of these programs due to overcrowded curricula and clinical components that operate in an environment segregated from the academic/research enterprise. To make research-oriented education/training programs more accessible and increase the number of interested students, the culture of dental schools and dental education must change. Programs for future dental researchers and academicians must be supported by curricula that foster an appreciation of research/discovery, an interest in academic/research careers, and the application of biomedical/clinical advances to practice. The Marquette University School of Dentistry has designed a comprehensive new curriculum that supports student research and scholarly activity throughout all four years of dental education. The curriculum minimizes discipline-based courses and is structured into interdisciplinary content tracks that integrate biomedical, behavioral, and clinical sciences while emphasizing the application of science to patient care. A specific research/scholarly track represents dedicated didactic time that exposes all dental students to material not traditionally included in dental curricula. This track includes mentored research/scholarly experiences at local and national sites that are individually structured for each student. Customized student schedules facilitate participation in these experiences without hardship or penalty. This curriculum structure may serve as a model for research non-intensive institutions seeking to increase student interest in academic and research careers.

Students have numerous obstacles to overcome during their first four years of dental education

Students have numerous obstacles to overcome during their first four years of dental education

Recognition of malocclusion: An education outcomes assessment

The purpose of this study was to assess the outcome of predoctoral orthodontic dental education in an American dental school. A test was used that measured the clinical abilities of dental students in the diagnosis of malocclusion in children, as well as their didactic abilities in answering select questions from recent national board examinations in orthodontics. The records of 7 children with different types of malocclusion were selected from the practice of a board-certified orthodontist. These cases were presented to dental students who were asked to make diagnoses and recommendations for treatment. The results of the didactic and clinical tests were used to assess the outcome of the predoctoral dental curriculum in imparting orthodontic knowledge to future general dentists. Didactic knowledge increased over the 4 years of dental education. First year students answered 30% of the questions correctly, whereas fourth year students answered 59% correctly. The relationship between clinical diagnostic skills and dental education, however, was not as strong. The fourth year students answered 70% of questions concerning the 7 cases correctly. These results indicate that fourth year dental students demonstrated only slight improvement compared with first year students, who answered 65% of the questions correctly. Thus, this study indicated that orthodontic diagnostic skills, as measured by the clinical test used, did not improve substantially during 4 years of undergraduate dental education. (Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 1999;116:444-51)

Some Fundamental Principles of Dental Education : a Retrospective View of 125 Years of Dental Education at Harvard University

Some Fundamental Principles of Dental Education : a Retrospective View of 125 Years of Dental Education at Harvard University

Fifty years of dental education in Queensland.

AbstractThis Address was delivered at the 24th Australian Dental Association Congress in May 1985 as a tribute to the Golden Jubilee of the Faculty of Dentistry in the University of Queensland. The roles of the six Deans are acknowledged. The progressive acquisition and development of physical facilities, the productivity of the school in terms of graduates and its contributions to knowledge through research and scholarly publications are reviewed, and an optimistic glance is cast at the future.

Resolved: that a fifth year of dental education be a requirement. Remarks for the affirmative

Evidence has been presented that leading deans of dental schools and leaders of the AADS support the assertion that the current four-year dental curriculum is overcrowded. Furthermore, it has been shown that the magnitude of the problem of overcrowding is regarded as serious and has been so recognized for at least twenty years. Evidence was also presented that educators, students, and the practicing profession support the assertion that the current four-year curriculum does not prepare students adequately for dental practice. Evidence was then presented that the overcrowding and inadequacies of the current curriculum cannot be corrected by merely manipulating or restructuring curricular elements within the context of predental and four years of predoctoral education. Finally, it was shown that, in the opinion of educators and students, the overcrowding and inadequacies of the current four-year curriculum can be overcome by establishing a fifth year of dental education as a requirement.

Resolved: that a fifth year of dental education be a requirement. Remarks for the negative

Those representing the affirmative side of the issue have failed to provide convincing evidence supporting the necessity of a required fifth year of dental education. The mechanism is already in place for additional education and experience through expanding general practice residency programs for students desiring additional experience. A required fifth year would increase the cost of dental education for all students at a time of diminishing resources and would undoubtedly result in greater health care costs for the public. The overcrowded curriculum can be addressed successfully and far more economically by restructuring the present predental/dental curriculum continuum instead of adding a required fifth year. In conclusion, the negative side asserts that there are more practical, less expensive, and more feasible ways to address the issues confronting dental education today than by adding a mandatory year to the education process.

Early years of dental education in Edinburgh

Early years of dental education in Edinburgh

The first year of dental education.

The first year of dental education.