bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dentists’ Leadership‐Related Educational Experiences, Attitudes, and Past and Current Behavior
Authors: Taichman L. Susan , Taichman Russell S. , Inglehart Marita R.
Published: June 2020

The purpose of this study was to assess practicing dentists’ perceptions of their leadership‐related educational experiences during predoctoral education and after graduation, to investigate if these perceptions differed as a function of the respondents’ graduation year and gender, and to explore the relationships between educational experiences and the respondents’ understanding/perceptions of leadership, leadership‐related attitudes, self‐perceived effectiveness, and past and current leadership‐ related behavior. Of the 3,000 general dentist members of the American Dental Association who were invited to participate, 593 returned the survey for a response rate of 20 percent. Between 37 and 65 percent of the respondents indicated that their predoctoral dental education had not prepared them well on a series of factors related to being leaders in their practice, community, state, or at the national level. However, 33 to 77 percent of these dentists responded that educational experiences after graduation prepared them well for different types of leadership activities. Overall, respondents rated their predoctoral experiences significantly less positively than their experiences after graduation for each content area. The more recently the respondents had graduated, the higher they rated their leadership‐related educational experiences. The better their educational experiences, the more important the respondents evaluated leadership activities in their practice, organized dentistry, and research/teaching, the more important they assessed leadership to be, and the more effective they evaluated themselves to be as leaders. The perceived quality of the respondents’ predoctoral education was not correlated with their past and current leadership activities. The results of this study may suggest that improving leadership training during predoctoral education could positively affect future dentists’ attitudes about leadership and ratings of their own effectiveness as leaders.
Physiology Education in North American Dental Schools: The Basic Science Survey Series
Authors: Gautam Medha , Shaw David H. , Pate Ted D. , Lambert H. Wayne
Published: June 2020

As part of the Basic Science Survey Series for Dentistry, members of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Physiology, Pharmacology, and Therapeutics Section surveyed directors of physiology courses in North American dental schools. The survey was designed to assess, among other things, faculty affiliation and experience of course directors, teaching methods, general course content and emphasis, extent of interdisciplinary (shared) instruction, and impact of recent curricular changes. Responses were received from forty‐four of sixty‐seven (65.7 percent) U.S. and Canadian dental schools. The findings suggest the following: substantial variation exists in instructional hours, faculty affiliation, class size, and interdisciplinary nature of physiology courses; physiology course content emphasis is similar between schools; student contact hours in physiology, which have remained relatively stable in the past fifteen years, are starting to be reduced; recent curricular changes have often been directed towards enhancing the integrative and clinically relevant aspects of physiology instruction; and a trend toward innovative content delivery, such as use of computer‐assisted instruction, is evident. Data from this study may be useful to physiology course directors, curriculum committees, and other dental educators with an interest in integrative and interprofessional education.
Tobacco Cessation Treatment Education for Dental Students Using Standardized Patients
Authors: Singleton Jacqueline A. , Carrico Ruth M. , Myers John A. , Scott David A. , Wilson Richard W. , Worth Celeste T.
Published: June 2020

The use of standardized patients (SPs) shows promise in tobacco cessation treatment (TCT) training by providing a simulated clinical environment for dental students to practice counseling skills with individuals trained to portray patients. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge between dental students who received a lecture and practice sessions with SPs and those who received a lecture only. Dental students in an introductory clinical course at one dental school were invited to participate in the study by completing a pre and post questionnaire. The pre questionnaire was administered to all students prior to a tobacco cessation lecture. Students were group‐randomized to either the intervention or control group. The intervention group completed the post questionnaire after the lecture and practice sessions with SPs, and the control group completed it after the lecture only. Of ninety‐eight students who attended the lecture and were invited to participate in the study, a total of ninety‐four from the two groups (96 percent) provided two linkable questionnaires for analysis. In the results, training with lecture and SPs increased the students’ understanding of barriers, subjective norms, perceived skills, self‐efficacy, and intentions to provide TCT more than those in the lecture only; however, it did not significantly increase their attitudes and knowledge. These findings suggest that using SPs is a valuable educational method to promote the provision of TCT by dental students and graduates.
Assessing Learning Styles of Saudi Dental Students Using Kolb's Learning Style Inventory
Authors: ALQahtani Dalal A. , Al‐Gahtani Sara M.
Published: June 2020

Experiential learning theory (ELT), a theory developed by David Kolb that considers experience to be very important for learning, classifies learners into four categories: Divergers, Assimilators, Convergers, and Accommodators. Kolb used his Learning Style Inventory (LSI) to validate ELT. Knowing the learning styles of students facilitates their understanding of themselves and thereby increases teaching efficiency. Few studies have been conducted that investigate learning preferences of students in the field of dentistry. This study was designed to distinguish learning styles among Saudi dental students and interns utilizing Kolb's LSI. The survey had a response rate of 62 percent (424 of 685 dental students), but surveys with incomplete answers or errors were excluded, resulting in 291 usable surveys (42 percent of the student population). The independent variables of this study were gender, clinical experience level, academic achievement as measured by grade point average (GPA), and specialty interest. The Diverging learning style was the dominant style among those in the sample. While the students preferred the Assimilating style during their early preclinical years, they preferred the Diverging style during their later clinical years. No associations were found between students’ learning style and their gender, GPA, or specialty interest. Further research is needed to support these findings and demonstrate the impact of learning styles on dental students’ learning.
Dental Students’ HIV/AIDS‐Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intentions: Impact of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration's Community‐Based Dental Partnership Program
Authors: Hamershock Rose A. , Rajabiun Serena , Fox Jane E. , Mofidi Mahyar , Abel Stephen N. , York Jill A. , Kunzel Carol , Sanogo Moussa , Mayfield Theresa G.
Published: June 2020

Access to oral health care for vulnerable populations is one of the concerns addressed by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau's Community‐Based Dental Partnership Program (CBDPP). The program introduces dental students and residents at several dental schools to care for vulnerable patients through didactic and clinical work in community‐based dental settings. This study of the dental students and residents in this program answered three questions: 1) What are their HIV knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors? 2) How has participation in the CBDPP impacted their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors? 3) Has the intervention affected their work placement decisions and attitudes after graduation, particularly with respect to treating people living with HIV and other underserved populations? A total of 305 first‐ through fourth‐year dental students and first‐ and second‐year residents at five dental schools across the United States completed surveys before and after a community‐based rotation and following graduation. Response rates at each of the five schools ranged from 82.4 to 100 percent. The results showed an increase in the participants’ knowledge and positive attitudes regarding treatment for patients with HIV and other vulnerable populations post‐rotation compared to pre‐rotation. Results after graduation found that most respondents were practicing in private settings or in academic institutions as residents but were willing to treat a diverse patient population. These findings support the role of training programs, such as the CBDPP, for expanding the dental workforce to treating vulnerable populations including people living with HIV/AIDS.
An Interdisciplinary, Team‐Based Design for an Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Course for Postdoctoral Dental Students
Authors: Ramesh Aruna , Ganguly Rumpa , Qualters Donna M.
Published: June 2020

This article describes the transition of an oral and maxillofacial radiology course from a traditional lecture format to an interactive case‐based, team‐based, interdisciplinary, and intraprofessional learning model in advanced dental education. Forty‐four postdoctoral dental students were enrolled in the course over a twelve‐week period in the fall semester 2012. The class consisted of U.S.‐ and foreign‐trained dentists enrolled in advanced education programs in various dental disciplines. The course faculty preassigned interdisciplinary teams with four or five students in each. The class met once a week for an hour. Ten of the twelve sessions consisted of a team presentation, individual quiz, team quiz, and case discussion. Each member of a team completed peer evaluation of other team members during weeks six and twelve of the course. The final course grade was a composite of individual and team quiz grades, team presentation, and peer evaluation grades. The overall class average was 90.43. Ninety‐five percent of the class (42/44) had total team grades equal to or greater than total individual quiz grades. The objective of creating a new case‐based, team‐based, interdisciplinary, intraprofessional learning model in advanced dental education was achieved, and the initial student perception of the new format was positive.
Preparation Time and Perceptions of Brazilian Specialists and Dental Students Regarding Simulated Root Canals for Endodontic Teaching: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Luz Diandra dos S. , de S. Ourique Fernanda , Scarparo Roberta K. , Vier‐Pelisser Fabiana V. , Morgental Renata D. , Waltrick Silvana B.G. , de Figueiredo José A.P.
Published: June 2020

The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the desirability of alternative models of artificial teeth versus extracted natural teeth for use in preclinical dental education. Specifically, the study was designed to compare the preparation time and perceptions of difficulty of undergraduate dental students and endodontists in carrying out root canal preparations on resin models (both clear and opaque) and extracted natural teeth. Twenty participants—ten fifth‐year students at a Brazilian dental school and ten endodontists with at least five years’ experience in the specialty—performed root canal instrumentation on two samples of each model. Preparation times were recorded, and the participants completed a questionnaire about the anatomical and physical characteristics of these models. The results showed that the time required for performing endodontic procedures in the natural teeth was higher than in the alternative models. The perceptions of the students and specialists regarding some topics on the questionnaire were significantly different. The students had more positive opinions about artificial teeth made of opaque resin, while the specialists had more positive opinions about simulated root canals in clear resin blocks. This study suggests that neither of the alternative models fulfilled requirements to replace natural teeth in endodontic teaching; improvements are still necessary to accomplish this goal.
Training Needs for General Dentistry Residents to Place and Restore Two‐Implant‐Retained Mandibular Overdentures
Authors: Malmstrom Hans , Xiao Jin , Romanos Georgios E. , Ren Yan‐Fang
Published: June 2020

Implant therapy is rapidly becoming a standard of care for replacing missing dentition. Predoctoral dental curricula include some training in the implant restorative phase but offer limited exposure to the surgical phase, so it is important for postdoctoral general dentistry residency programs to provide competency training in all phases of implant therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the training needed for general dentistry residents to achieve competence in this area, specifically by defining the number of clinical experiences necessary in both the surgical and prosthetic phases of implant‐retained mandibular overdenture construction (IRMOD). Fifteen Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residents at one academic dental institution placed two implants in a total of 50 patients with edentulous mandibles and subsequently restored them with IRMOD. The supervising faculty member and the residents evaluated the competency level on a five‐point scale after each implant placement and prosthetic case completion. According to the faculty evaluations, the residents achieved surgical competence after placing two implants in four to six cases and prosthetic management competence after restoring two to four cases of IRMOD. All 50 patients were satisfied with the treatment outcomes of IRMOD. This study concluded that general dentistry residents could potentially achieve competence in both the surgical and prosthetic phases of implant therapy while enrolled in an AEGD program.
Attitudes and Perceptions of U.S. Dental Students and Faculty Regarding Dental Licensure
Authors: Abdelkarim Ahmad , Sullivan Donna
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes and perceptions of U.S. dental students and faculty members about National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) pass/fail reporting, an Integrated NBDE, clinical examinations, licensure process and strategies, and validity of licensure. A survey instrument consisting of ten statements with response options on a five‐point Likert scale and a free‐text comment section was developed and distributed through SurveyMonkey. A total of 411 students and 186 faculty members from ten U.S. dental schools participated, with an estimated response rate of 17%. Faculty and student responses were compared using the Mann‐Whitney U test. These students’ and faculty members’ attitudes and perceptions were similar. Both groups showed mixed attitudes about NBDE scores as pass/fail, rather than numerical scores. The Integrated NBDE solicited mixed opinions and concerns that it would be complicated and stressful because students would be challenged to memorize information from earlier years. However, a single national clinical examination was highly preferred by both groups, preferably with simulated rather than real patients. Other strategies, such as background checks and continuing education requirements, were supported by both groups. Most of the licensure process strategies and policies were supported by both student and faculty respondents in the dental schools surveyed.
Patients’ Perceptions of Dehumanization of Patients in Dental School Settings: Implications for Clinic Management and Curriculum Planning
Authors: Raja Sheela , Shah Raveena , Hamad Judy , Van Kanegan Mona , Kupershmidt Alexandra , Kruthoff Mariela
Published: June 2020

Although the importance of empathy, rapport, and anxiety/pain awareness in dentist‐patient relations has been well documented, these factors continue to be an issue with patients in many dental school clinics. The aim of this study was to develop an in‐depth understanding of how patients at an urban, university‐affiliated medical center and its dental school's clinic experienced oral health care and to generate ideas for improving the dental school's clinical curriculum and management of the clinic. Although patient satisfaction surveys are common, in‐depth patient narratives are an underutilized resource for improving dental education. In‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 uninsured or underinsured dental patients at these sites, and the results were analyzed using content analysis. Major phenomena that participants discussed were the importance of empathy and good rapport with their oral health providers and provider awareness of dental pain and anxiety. Many patients also discussed feeling dehumanized during dental visits. Based on their positive and negative experiences, the participants made suggestions for how oral health professionals can successfully engage patients in treatment.
Dental Students’ Learning Experiences and Preferences Regarding Orofacial Pain: A Cross‐Sectional Study
Authors: Teich Sorin T. , Alonso Aurelio A. , Lang Lisa , Heima Masahiro
Published: June 2020

Pain is a global health problem, the effects of which range from diminished quality of life to pain management costs and loss of work and productivity. Pain in the head and neck region is defined as a separate entity: orofacial pain (OFP). However, some graduates from dental schools have reported feeling less competent in their ability to diagnose OFP than in other areas of dentistry. The aims of this study were to assess how students at one U.S. dental school had learned about OFP and to identify the teaching methods and venues they would like to see enhanced in the school's OFP curriculum. A cross‐sectional four‐question survey was administered to 140 dental students in their third and fourth years; the survey had a response rate of 53%. Most students reported having gained their OFP knowledge mainly in dental school, and 91.9% selected didactic courses as the main teaching method in which they had learned about this topic. Clinical education was the main teaching venue these students said they would like to see enhanced in order to gain more knowledge in most forms of OFP; this result aligned with their learning preferences in general. These findings may help dental schools design their OFP curricula to take account of students’ preferences as well as practical limitations regarding availability of clinical experiences.
Educators’ and Applicants’ Views of the Postdoctoral Pediatric Dentistry Admission Process: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Ricker Kevin , Mihas Paul , Lee Jessica Y. , Guthmiller Janet M. , Roberts Michael W. , Divaris Kimon
Published: June 2020

The postdoctoral application and matching process in dental education is a high‐stakes and resource‐intensive process for all involved. While programs seek the most qualified candidates, applicants strive to be competitive to increase their likelihood of being accepted to a desirable program. There are limited data regarding either subjective or objective factors underlying the complex interplay between programs and applicants. This qualitative study sought to provide insight into the stakeholders’ experiences and views on the matching process. Telephone and in‐person interviews were conducted with ten pediatric dentistry program directors and ten recent applicants to pediatric dentistry programs in the United States in 2013–14. Participants were selected to represent the geographic (five districts of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry) and institutional (hospital‐ or university‐based) diversity of pediatric dentistry programs. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Veracity and need for more information were the themes most often articulated by both groups. The program directors most valued teachability and self‐motivation as desirable applicant characteristics. The applicants relied primarily on subjective sources to gather information about programs and prioritized location and financial factors as pivotal for their rankings. Both groups appreciated the uniformity of the current application process and highlighted several weaknesses and areas for improvement. These results shed light on the postdoctoral matching process in pediatric dentistry via a qualitative description of stakeholders’ experiences and viewpoints. These insights can serve as a basis for improving and refining the matching process.
Use of an Analytical Grading Rubric for Self‐Assessment: A Pilot Study for a Periodontal Oral Competency Examination in Predoctoral Dental Education
Authors: Satheesh Keerthana M. , Brockmann Lorraine B. , Liu Ying , Gadbury‐Amyot Cynthia C.
Published: June 2020

While educators agree that using self‐assessment in education is valuable, a major challenge is the poor agreement often found between faculty assessment and student self‐assessment. The aim of this study was to determine if use of a predefined grading rubric would improve reliability between faculty and dental student assessment on a periodontal oral competency examination. Faculty members used the grading rubric to assess students’ performance on the exam. Immediately after taking the exam, students used the same rubric to self‐assess their performance on it. Data were collected from all third‐ and/or fourth‐year students in four classes at one U.S. dental school from 2011 to 2014. Since two of the four classes took the exam in both the third and fourth years, those data were compared to determine if those students’ self‐assessment skills improved over time. Statistical analyses were performed to determine agreement between the two faculty graders and between the students’ and faculty assessments on each criterion in the rubric and the overall grade. Data from the upper and lower performing quartiles of students were sub‐analyzed. The results showed that faculty reliability for the overall grades was high (K=0.829) and less so for individual criteria, while student‐faculty reliability was weak to moderate for both overall grades (Spearman's rho=0.312) and individual criteria. Students in the upper quartile self‐evaluated themselves more harshly than the faculty (p<0.0001), while the lower quartile students overestimated their performance (p=0.0445) compared to faculty evaluation. No significant improvement was found in assessment over time in the students who took the exam in the third and fourth years. This study found only limited support for the hypothesis that a grading rubric used by both faculty and students would increase correspondence between faculty and student assessment and points to a need to reexamine the rubric and instructional strategies to help students improve their ability to self‐assess their work.
Factors Influencing Dental Students’ Specialty Choice: A Survey of Ten Graduating Classes at One Institution
Authors: Shin Jane H. , Kinnunen Taru H. , Zarchy Marisa , Da Silva John D. , Chang Brian Myung W. , Wright Robert F.
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to survey ten graduating classes at Harvard School of Dental Medicine regarding students’ specialty choice and factors influencing that choice. Students were surveyed once in 2008 (for the Classes of 2007–11) and again in 2013 (for the Classes of 2012–16). A prior article reported results regarding students’ interest in and experiences with prosthodontics; this article presents results regarding their interest in all dental specialties and factors influencing those interests. Of a total 176 students in the Classes of 2012–16, 143 responded to the survey, for a response rate of 81%, compared to a 95% response rate (167 of total 176 students) for the Classes of 2007–11. The results showed that orthodontics was the most popular specialty choice, followed by oral and maxillofacial surgery. From the 2008 to the 2013 survey groups, there was an increase in the percentages of students planning to pursue oral and maxillofacial surgery, pediatric dentistry, and postdoctoral general dentistry. The educational debt these students expected to accrue by graduation also increased. The largest percentage of students chose “enjoyment of providing the specialty service” as the factor most influencing their specialty choice. “Prior dental school experience” and “faculty influence” were greater influences for students pursuing specialties than those pursuing postdoctoral general dentistry. Increased interest in particular disciplines may be driven by high debt burdens students face upon graduation. Factors related to mentoring especially influenced students pursuing specialties, demonstrating the importance of student experiences outside direct patient care for exposure to the work of specialists beyond the scope of predoctoral training. This finding suggests that dental schools should increase mentoring efforts to help students make career decisions based not on financial burden but rather on personal interest in the specialty, which is likely to have a more satisfying result for them in the long run.
Tobacco Dependence Education in U.S. Dental Assisting Programs’ Curricula
Authors: Svetanoff Emily , Romito Laura M. , Ford Pamela T. , Palenik Charles J. , Davis Joan M.
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to assess the level of tobacco dependence education (TDE) in the curricula of U.S. dental assisting programs and to compare the findings to those from a similar assessment of dental hygiene curricula. In the 2012–13 academic year, a 51‐item survey was sent to directors of all 298 accredited dental assisting programs. Assessed were curricular TDE content, time spent on each topic, expected levels of clinical competence, and resources used. Of the 298 potential participants, 89 programs returned completed surveys, for a response rate of 30%. Of the 13 TDE‐related content areas, those most often covered were oral disease related to tobacco use (100%) and general diseases related to tobacco use (93%); those least often covered were stages of (behavior) change (29%), how to develop a comprehensive tobacco intervention program in a private office setting (23%), and strategies for community‐based tobacco control (22%). Responding program directors indicated the following levels of tobacco cessation intervention at which students should demonstrate competence: brief, 44%; moderate, 55%; intensive, 8%. Less than half of the reporting programs conducted a formal assessment of clinical competence in any TDE‐related skills; however, skills in assessing patient tobacco use and associating head and neck findings to tobacco use were formally or informally assessed by 74% and 61%, respectively. Compared to dental hygiene programs, TDE appeared to play a smaller role in the curricula of dental assisting programs, and dental assisting programs were less likely to formally assess clinical competence in TDE.
The Winds of Change Revisited: Progress Towards Building a Culture of Evidence‐Based Dentistry
Authors: Hinton Robert J. , McCann Ann L. , Schneiderman Emet D. , Dechow Paul C.
Published: June 2020

In 2008, Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry launched a comprehensive four‐year curriculum in evidence‐based dentistry (EBD) along with a series of faculty development initiatives to create an EBD culture. The aim of this study was to determine the institution's success in achieving this goal. The assessment tool used was the PEAK instrument, which measures respondents’ EBD Practices, Experience, Attitudes, and Knowledge. Two EBD‐trained classes of students and one class untrained in EBD (approximately 100 students in each class) were assessed annually. The faculty were assessed before and after completion of the initiative. Nearly all students responded, with samples ranging from 87 to 102; the faculty response rates were 53% (62/117) in 2009 and 66% in 2013 (81/123). In the results, the trained students scored significantly higher in knowledge than the untrained students at each of the first three PEAK administrations (p≤0.001). Regarding confidence in appraising a research report, the first trained group significantly gained in appropriate use of statistical tests (p<0.001), while the second trained group significantly gained in this aspect and five others (p≤0.032). At the final PEAK administration, the second trained group agreed more than the untrained group that EBD was important for the practice of dentistry (p<0.001). Faculty comfort level with reading peer‐reviewed articles increased significantly from 2009 to 2013 (p=0.039). Faculty members who participated in the summer EBD Fundamentals course (n=28) had significantly higher EBD knowledge scores than those who did not participate (p=0.013), and their EBD attitudes and practices were more positive (p<0.05). Students and faculty trained in EBD were more knowledgeable and exhibited more positive attitudes, supporting a conclusion that the college has made substantial progress towards achieving an EBD culture.
Long‐Term Adoption of Caries Management by Risk Assessment Among Dental Students in a University Clinic
Authors: Chaffee Benjamin W. , Featherstone John D.B.
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to evaluate the long‐term adoption of a risk‐based caries management program at a university dental clinic. The authors extracted data from electronic records of adult non‐edentulous patients who underwent a comprehensive oral evaluation in the university predoctoral clinic from July 2007 through June 2014 (N=21,984). Consistency with caries management guidelines was measured as the percentage of patients with caries risk designation (low, moderate, high, or extreme) and the percentage of patients provided non‐operative anti‐caries agents within each designated caries risk category. Additionally, patient and provider characteristics associated with risk assessment completion and with provision of anti‐caries therapy were identified. Results showed that the percentage of patients with documented caries risk grew steadily from 62.3% in 2007–08 to 92.8% in 2013–14. Overall, receipt of non‐operative anti‐caries agents increased with rising caries risk, from low (6.9%), moderate (14.1%), high (36.4%), to extreme (51.4%), but percentages were stable over the study period. Younger patients were more likely to have a completed risk assessment, and among high‐ and extreme‐risk patients, delivery of anti‐caries therapy was more common among patients who were younger, identified as Asian or Caucasian, received public dental benefits, or were seen by a student in the four‐year DDS program or in the final year of training. These results demonstrate that extensive compliance in documenting caries risk was achieved within a decade of implementing risk‐based clinical guidelines at this dental school clinic. Caries risk was the most strongly associated of several factors related to delivery of non‐operative therapy. The eventual success of this program suggests that, in dental education, transition to a risk‐based, prevention‐focused curriculum may require a long‐term commitment.
Health Promotion Training in Dental and Oral Health Degrees: A Scoping Review
Authors: Bracksley‐O’Grady Stacey A. , Dickson‐Swift Virginia A. , Anderson Karen S. , Gussy Mark G.
Published: June 2020

Dental diseases are a major burden on health; however, they are largely preventable. Dental treatment alone will not eradicate dental disease with a shift to prevention required. Prevention of dental diseases is a role of dental professionals, with most countries having formalized health promotion competencies for dental and oral health graduates. In spite of this, there may be minimal health promotion being undertaken in clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review to identify some published studies on health promotion training in dental and oral health degrees. Key search terms were developed and used to search selected databases, which identified 84 articles. Four articles met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were included in the review. Of these studies, the type of oral health promotion tasks and instructions received before the tasks varied. However, for all studies the health promotion content was focused on health education. In terms of evaluation of outcomes, only two studies evaluated the health promotion content using student reflections. More good‐quality information on health promotions training is needed to inform practice.
Dental and Allied Dental Students’ Attitudes Towards and Perceptions of Intraprofessional Education
Authors: Brame Jennifer L. , Mitchell Shannon H. , Wilder Rebecca S. , Sams Lattice D.
Published: June 2020

Interprofessional and intraprofessional learning opportunities in health professions education are vital to emphasize evidence‐based practice, quality improvement, and cost‐effectiveness in patients’ oral health care. The aim of this study was to assess dental, dental hygiene, and dental assisting students’ readiness for intraprofessional education and to evaluate their attitudes towards and perceptions of intraprofessional teamwork, communication, respect, and understanding of professional roles. In 2013, students at one dental school (N=247) were surveyed, and focus groups were conducted for this convergent parallel mixed‐methods study. Survey response rates were as follows: senior dental students 54.4% (N=43), senior dental hygiene students 100% (N=32), dental assisting students 95% (N=19), junior dental students 51.8% (N=42), and junior dental hygiene students 100% (N=33). The results showed that the dental hygiene students had more positive responses about intraprofessional education than the dental and dental assisting students (p<0.05). Most (94%, N=160) of the respondents in the combined groups agreed that intraprofessional learning would help them become more effective members of the oral health care team. The three focus group sessions (N=17) revealed consistency among the groups regarding the value of an integrated clinical design and intraprofessional education. These students were eager and positive about intraprofessional learning and agreed that a shared learning model can improve communication and respect among team members, provide a better understanding of roles, and ultimately enhance patient care.
Adequacy of Patient Pools to Support Predoctoral Students’ Achievement of Competence in Pediatric Dentistry in U.S. Dental Schools
Authors: Casamassimo Paul S. , Seale N. Sue
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to characterize the current status of predoctoral pediatric dentistry patient pools in U.S. dental schools and compare their status to that in 2001. A 2014 survey of school clinic‐based and community‐based dental patient pools was developed, piloted, and sent to pediatric predoctoral program directors in 57 U.S. dental schools via SurveyMonkey. Two follow‐up contacts were made to increase the response rate. A total of 49 surveys were returned for a response rate of 86%. The responding program directors reported that their programs’ patient pools had declined in number and had changed in character with more diversity and fewer procedures. They attributed the changes to competition, cost, and location of the dental school. The respondents reported that community‐based dental education clinical sites continued to provide additional service experiences for dental students, with contributions varying by the nature of the site. A large number of the respondents felt that their graduates lacked some basic pediatric dentistry clinical skills and were not ready for independent practice with children. The results of this study suggest that the predoctoral pediatric dentistry patient pool has changed and general dentists may be graduating with inadequate experiences to practice dentistry for children.
Ability of Admissions Criteria to Predict Early Academic Performance Among Students of Health Science Colleges at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Alhadlaq Adel M. , Alshammari Osama F. , Alsager Saleh M. , Neel Khalid A. Fouda , Mohamed Ashry G.
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of admissions criteria at King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to predict students’ early academic performance at three health science colleges (medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy). A retrospective cohort study was conducted with data from the records of students enrolled in the three colleges from the 2008–09 to 2010–11 academic years. The admissions criteria—high school grade average (HSGA), aptitude test (APT) score, and achievement test (ACT) score—were the independent variables. The dependent variable was the average of students’ first‐ and second‐year grade point average (GPA). The results showed that the ACT was a better predictor of the students’ early academic performance than the HSGA (β=0.368, β=0.254, respectively). No significant relationship was found between the APT and students’ early academic performance (β=−0.019, p>0.01). The ACT was most predictive for pharmacy students (β=0.405), followed by dental students (β =0.392) and medical students (β=0.195). Overall, the current admissions criteria explained only 25.5% of the variance in the students’ early academic performance. While the ACT and HSGA were found to be predictive of students’ early academic performance in health colleges at KSU, the APT was not a strong predictor. Since the combined current admissions criteria for the health science colleges at KSU were weak predictors of the variance in early academic performance, it may be necessary to consider noncognitive evaluation methods during the admission process.
Do Quantitative Measures of Research Productivity Correlate with Academic Rank in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery?
Authors: Susarla Srinivas M. , Dodson Thomas B. , Lopez Joseph , Swanson Edward W. , Calotta Nicholas , Peacock Zachary S.
Published: June 2020

Academic promotion is linked to research productivity. The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between quantitative measures of academic productivity and academic rank among academic oral and maxillofacial surgeons. This was a cross‐sectional study of full‐time academic oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the United States. The predictor variables were categorized as demographic (gender, medical degree, research doctorate, other advanced degree) and quantitative measures of academic productivity (total number of publications, total number of citations, maximum number of citations for a single article, I‐10 index [number of publications with ≥10 citations], and h‐index [number of publications h with ≥h citations each]). The outcome variable was current academic rank (instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor, or endowed professor). Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple regression statistics were computed to evaluate associations between the predictors and academic rank. Receiver‐operator characteristic curves were computed to identify thresholds for academic promotion. The sample consisted of 324 academic oral and maxillofacial surgeons, of whom 11.7% were female, 40% had medical degrees, and 8% had research doctorates. The h‐index was the most strongly correlated with academic rank (ρ=0.62, p<0.001). H‐indexes of ≥4, ≥8, and ≥13 were identified as thresholds for promotion to associate professor, professor, and endowed professor, respectively (p<0.001). This study found that the h‐index was strongly correlated with academic rank among oral and maxillofacial surgery faculty members and thus suggests that promotions committees should consider using the h‐index as an additional method to assess research activity.
Evaluation of Team‐Based Learning and Traditional Instruction in Teaching Removable Partial Denture Concepts
Authors: Echeto Luisa F. , Sposetti Venita , Childs Gail , Aguilar Maria L. , Behar‐Horenstein Linda S. , Rueda Luis , Nimmo Arthur
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of team‐based learning (TBL) methodology on dental students’ retention of knowledge regarding removable partial denture (RPD) treatment. The process of learning RPD treatment requires that students first acquire foundational knowledge and then use critical thinking skills to apply that knowledge to a variety of clinical situations. The traditional approach to teaching, characterized by a reliance on lectures, is not the most effective method for learning clinical applications. To address the limitations of that approach, the teaching methodology of the RPD preclinical course at the University of Florida was changed to TBL, which has been shown to motivate student learning and improve clinical performance. A written examination was constructed to compare the impact of TBL with that of traditional teaching regarding students’ retention of knowledge and their ability to evaluate, diagnose, and treatment plan a partially edentulous patient with an RPD prosthesis. Students taught using traditional and TBL methods took the same examination. The response rate (those who completed the examination) for the class of 2013 (traditional method) was 94% (79 students of 84); for the class of 2014 (TBL method), it was 95% (78 students of 82). The results showed that students who learned RPD with TBL scored higher on the examination than those who learned RPD with traditional methods. Compared to the students taught with the traditional method, the TBL students’ proportion of passing grades was statistically significantly higher (p=0.002), and 23.7% more TBL students passed the examination. The mean score for the TBL class (0.758) compared to the conventional class (0.700) was statistically significant with a large effect size, also demonstrating the practical significance of the findings. The results of the study suggest that TBL methodology is a promising approach to teaching RPD with successful outcomes.
Assessment of Students’ Sense of Community in Distance Education Classrooms of U.S. Dental Hygiene Programs
Authors: Smilyanski Irina A. , Boyd Linda D. , Perry Kristeen R. , Rothman Andrew T. , Jenkins Susan
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to examine the association between distance education (DE) and students’ sense of classroom community (SCC) in U.S. dental hygiene programs. The concept of SCC is recognized to have an influence on students’ educational outcomes. With the goal of increasing diversity among future dental professionals, there comes a need to accommodate students of various backgrounds through the use of DE. The impact of DE on students’ SCC has not been studied in previous research. This 2014 cross‐sectional survey study looked at a convenience sample of dental hygiene students finishing their first or second clinical year to assess their SCC. Participating programs had both host and satellite campuses and utilized DE for didactic course delivery at the remote sites. To calculate the students’ sense of community, Rovai's Classroom Community Scale (CCS) was utilized, and demographic information was collected. Six of the 13 eligible programs agreed to participate; the overall response rate for individual students was 25%. When evaluated on their sense of community, the satellite college‐based students scored 26.47 CCS units and 14.51 learning subscale units lower than the host college‐based students. These results suggested a negative association between the students’ sense of community and their affiliation with satellite campuses when controlled for demographic variables. The findings suggest a negative trend in the SCC for dental hygiene students on remote campuses and utilizing DE for a portion of their curriculum. This trend can potentially decrease students’ educational success and satisfaction and should be addressed.
Policies and Procedures That Facilitate Implementation of Evidence‐Based Clinical Guidelines in U.S. Dental Schools
Authors: Polk Deborah E. , Nolan Beth A.D. , Shah Nilesh H. , Weyant Robert J.
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to determine the degree to which dental schools in the United States have policies and procedures in place that facilitate the implementation of evidence‐based clinical guidelines. The authors sent surveys to all 65 U.S. dental schools in 2014; responses were obtained from 38 (58%). The results showed that, of the nine policies and procedures examined, only two were fully implemented by 50% or more of the responding schools: guidelines supported through clinical faculty education or available chairside (50%), and students informed of guidelines in both the classroom and clinic (65.8%). Although 92% of the respondents reported having an electronic health record, 80% of those were not using it to track compliance with guidelines. Five schools reported implementing more policies than the rest of the schools. The study found that the approach to implementing guidelines at most of the responding schools did not follow best practices although five schools had an exemplary set of policies and procedures to support guideline implementation. These results suggest that most dental schools are currently not implementing guidelines effectively and efficiently, but that the goal of schools’ having a comprehensive implementation program for clinical guidelines is achievable since some are doing so. Future studies should determine whether interventions to improve implementation in dental schools are needed.
Access to Interpreter Services at U.S. Dental School Clinics
Authors: Simon Lisa , Hum Lauren , Nalliah Romesh
Published: June 2020

The number of Americans with limited English proficiency (LEP) is growing, and legal protections mandate that LEP individuals have equal access to health care services. The aim of this study was to determine the availability of interpretation services in U.S. dental school clinics and the kinds of instruction dental students are given regarding treatment of LEP patients. A survey was distributed to the academic deans of all U.S. dental schools; 35 completed the survey for a response rate of 58%. Respondents were asked to report on the number of LEP patients treated in their student clinics, the resources available to students working with LEP patients, and the extent of instruction offered. Descriptive statistics were calculated. The results indicated that the proportion of LEP patients treated at U.S. dental schools was perceived to be higher than that of the general population. The availability of interpreter services and the extent of student education about LEP individuals varied widely. Among the responding schools, the most common language spoken by LEP patients was Spanish, followed by Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and Russian. Most of the responding dental schools reported offering fewer than two hours of instruction to their predoctoral students on treating LEP patients. Although almost 90% of the respondents indicated believing LEP patients received care equal in quality to that of non‐LEP patients in their clinics, only 61.9% indicated that their students were adequately prepared to manage LEP patients following graduation. These findings suggest that dental schools should consider curricular innovations that will prepare students to work with LEP populations and improve the ability of LEP patients to receive care in the teaching clinic setting.