bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factors Affecting Stress Among Indian Dental Students
Authors: Acharya Shashidhar
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the perceived sources of stress and the role of parents in its etiology among dental students in a private dental school in India. A modified Dental Environment Stress (DES) Questionnaire was administered to 256 dental students. The main sources of stress were found to be fear of facing parents after failure, full loaded day, and fear of failing course or year. Students whose first choice of admission was dentistry experienced less stress than students whose first choice was another field. Also the students who joined dentistry due to parental pressure showed greater stress than those who joined of their own accord. Male students experienced greater stress than females. The results of this study indicate that a congenial environment needs to be created for dental education and parents also need to be counseled against forcing their children to join an educational program that is not of their choice.
The Predictive Utility of Computer‐Simulated Exercises for Preclinical Technique Performance
Authors: Gray Sarah A. , Deem Lisa P. , Sisson June A. , Hammrich Penny L.
Published: June 2020

The objective of this research was to determine if a computerized simulated dental exercise predicts students' subsequent performance in preclinical technique courses. Twenty‐nine first‐year dental students voluntarily participated in the investigation prior to their first experience with a dental handpiece. These students prepared an ideal Class I amalgam on an ivorine mandibular first molar tooth after viewing ten‐minute videotaped instructions. Students completed the Class I amalgam on a computerized dental treatment simulator (SIM). All participants' SIM scores were correlated with sub‐test scores of the Dental Admission Test (DAT), predental overall grade point average (GPA), predental Biology/Chemistry/Physics grade point average (BCP), and grades from the first two preclinical laboratory technique courses (Lab 1 and Lab 2). The results showed a significant correlation between the simulator scores and DAT sub‐test scores of Academic Average and Total Science, as well as Lab 1 scores. Based on these results, the simulator appears to be a good measure of general cognitive ability, including cognitive ability required to complete uncomplicated preclinical exercises.
Identifying and Responding to Competing Needs: A Case Study of a Dental School‐Operated Community Dental Clinic
Authors: Christie Diana , Maida Carl A. , Freed James R. , Marcus Marvin
Published: June 2020

Dental schools face challenges and competing needs when they seek to initiate or expand their community dental programs. This article uses a dental school community clinic as a case study to frame the tensions between competing needs of educational requirements, access to dental care, financial viability, and service to the community that clinics must learn to manage if they are to be successful. The identification of competing needs provides community‐oriented dental school clinics the ability to examine factors that come into play as communities and their environments change. The outcome of this assessment process is strategies that can facilitate the provision of a higher level of services more efficiently, while at the same time taking into account future limitations in availability of resources. The concluding section of this article presents a model for a community‐based dental clinic that is directed more toward patient care, involves dentists/specialists as primary providers, allows postdoctoral residents to take on more responsibility, and allows dental students to provide patient care on a more regular and longitudinal basis.
State Financing of Dental Education: Impact on Supply of Dentists
Authors: Bailit Howard L. , Beazoglou Tryfon J.
Published: June 2020

In 2000, the thirty‐six states with public dental schools provided an average subsidy of $49,347 per dental student. In contrast, nineteen states provided little or no subsidy. Since states invest in dental education, in part, to ensure an adequate supply of dentists, we examined the factors that explain dentist variation among states. We found that population size, per capita income, and the number of students from the state enrolled in dental school had a significant and positive impact. The level of state support for dental education and the presence of a dental school had a negative or nonsignificant effect, respectively. Apparently, dentists locate based primarily on the demand for their services and, to a lesser extent, on where they were raised. The states' investment in dental education had little impact on number of dentists because some states had many dentists but invested little in dental education. We identified two states that collectively account for 15 percent of enrolled students even though they provide minimal subsidy for dental education. We discuss the implications of these findings for states that do not have dental schools and need more dentists. This research was supported in part by grants from the Connecticut Health Foundation (Dental Workforce in Connecticut: Issues and Options), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the California Endowment (Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community‐Based Dental Education).
Predoctoral Clinical Curriculum Models at U.S. and Canadian Dental Schools
Authors: Holmes David C. , Boston Daniel W. , Budenz Alan W. , Licari Frank W.
Published: June 2020

In fall 2002, the ADEA Section on Comprehensive Care and General Dentistry conducted a survey of the predoctoral clinical curriculum models at sixty‐four North American dental schools. Fifty‐eight percent of the schools reported that most patient care is provided in a comprehensive care clinic setting, 22 percent reported that most patient care is provided in discipline‐specific settings, and 20 percent reported a hybrid of comprehensive care and discipline‐specific settings. While ten Primarily Discipline‐Based (PD) schools have instituted new Primarily Comprehensive Care (PCC) or Hybrid clinical curricula since 1997, one PCC school has converted to a Hybrid model, and one PCC school has converted to a PD model. PCC curriculum models were frequently associated with the following institutional factors: more densely populated metropolitan areas; private institutional sponsorship; location within a university medical center; larger class size; and more students enrolled in advanced training at the school. Curriculum factors frequently associated with PCC models included the following: increased use of simulation technology; higher proportion of clinical/teaching track faculty; higher proportion of part‐time faculty; higher proportion of generalist faculty; same faculty supervising both treatment planning and patient treatment; and use of competency exams as the main requirement for completion of the curriculum.
Views of Practicing Dentists Regarding a Mandatory Fifth Year of Training
Authors: Lefever Karen H. , Atchison Kathryn A. , McCauley Kevin R. , Mito Ronald D. , Engelhardt Rita
Published: June 2020

As part of a U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration‐funded evaluation of the impact of federal funding on postgraduate general dentistry programs, a random sample of 6,725 dentists graduating in 1989, 1993, and 1997 were surveyed regarding practice patterns, advanced training, populations served, services provided, and their position on a mandatory fifth year of training. Responses (1,965) showed 48 percent supporting a mandatory year and 52 percent not supportive. Open‐ended comments were provided by 1,626 respondents. The main reasons for supporting a mandatory fifth year were the need for more instructional time and need for a transition year. Individual choice, no value in a fifth year of dental school, mentoring available elsewhere, and cost were cited in opposition. The following respondents were significantly more likely than other respondents to support a mandatory fifth year: individuals who had completed an AEGD, GPR, or specialty program; were Asian; held salaried positions in a community clinic, nursing home, or hospital; or described themselves as a consultant. Graduates in 1993 and 1997 were less supportive of a mandatory fifth year than were 1989 graduates. Significant differences in the reasons offered in support of respondents' positions on the issue were observed among AEGD, GPR, specialists, and nonspecialists and the three cohort years.
Neuroanatomy for the Dentist in the Twenty‐First Century
Authors: Klueber Kathleen M.
Published: June 2020

Both the anatomy and physiology parts of national boards have questions on neuroscience. Currently, there are course guidelines established for dental neuroanatomy but not for dental neuroscience. As a result, there is great variability in what and how neurosciences are taught to dental students. At first glance, it is difficult to determine where neurosciences fit in the dental curriculum. One area where there is a close tie between basic science and clinical care is the realm of pain control. Since the Institute of Medicine study recommended that basic and clinical sciences curricula provide clinically relevant education, a neuroscience curriculum can integrate basic understanding of how the nervous system works in the care and management of dental pain. This paper describes the integrated approach to teaching neuroanatomy as a component of the head and neck gross anatomy course at the University of Louisville. This integrated strategy provides dental students with the basic concepts of neuroscience, pain pathways, autonomic nervous system, and detailed information on the cranial nerves.
Fabricating a Face: The Essence of Embryology in the Dental Curriculum
Authors: Sperber G.H.
Published: June 2020

The current explosive growth in developmental biology, fuelled by the almost completed sequencing of the human genome, is bound to have a profound impact upon the practice of medicine and dentistry in the twenty‐first century. No other discipline more accurately reflects this impact than embryology, which combines the basic and clinical sciences of genetics, ontogeny, phylogeny, teratology, and syndromology into the essence of modern medical and dental practice. The advent of in vitro fertilization, chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis, prenatal ultrasonography, intrauterine surgery, and stem cell therapy has vaulted the previously esoteric subject of embryology into clinical consciousness. All these aforementioned procedures require an intimate knowledge of the different stages of development. The alphabet soup of acronyms that now peppers papers proclaiming the genetics and characteristics of various growth factors and cytokines (e.g., FGF, TGFα) are all based upon an understanding of the developmental mechanisms occurring in the embryo and subsequently in wound healing and oncology. Congenital abnormalities ranging from lethal syndromes to dental malocclusions cannot be diagnosed, treated, cured, or prognosticated upon without a sound conceptualization of embryology. Computer technology has revolutionized the understanding and teaching of embryology by portraying developmental phenomena as three‐dimensional model images in sequential depictions of changes proceeding in the fourth dimension of time. Embryology must now form the essential core of the basic sciences in medical and dental curricula. Future dental practice will become rooted in the genetics and morphogenesis of facial fabrication.
A Comparison of Private and Public Dental Students' Perceptions of Extramural Programming
Authors: Ayers Curt S. , Abrams Richard A. , McCunniff Michael D. , Goldstein Benjamin R.
Published: June 2020

This project was undertaken to compare the opinions of private and public dental school students' perceptions concerning extramural programming, which is defined as any aspect of the curriculum in which undergraduate dental students provide dental care outside the main dental facility. A survey instrument was used to collect data from undergraduate students at a private (N=267; 88.4 percent response rate) and at a public (N=213; 67.2 percent response rate) dental school. When asked to rate the value of various extramural sites in making them a better dentist, both groups rated private dental offices the most valuable and prisons the least valuable. When questioned about the amount of time students should spend each year in extramural programming, private students, overall, desired 34 percent more time than did public students. When asked what percentage of the total time spent in extramural programming students should spend providing various categories of dental care, public school students thought 26 percent more time should be spent rendering preventive services/health education than did the private students. The private students indicated a stronger desire (13 percent more) for rendering clinical services than did public students. Both private and public students were most likely to enter group private practice after graduation. The increasing interest in community‐based programs makes the information gained from this study useful for future curriculum planning.
Creating an Environment for Diversity in Dental Schools: One School's Approach
Authors: Formicola Allan J. , Klyvert Marlene , McIntosh James , Thompson Albert , Davis Martin , Cangialosi Thomas
Published: June 2020

Recent reports have indicated the need to improve the diversity in the dental profession's workforce. The enrollment of underrepresented minority students in the nation's dental schools must increase to accomplish this goal. A complex change process within the dental schools is required to prepare schools to enroll a more diverse student body. While each dental school in the United States is unique, a product of its history and institutional culture, and will, therefore, create an environment for diversity in different ways, it is appropriate to describe lessons learned in individual schools as they strive for diversity. The purpose of this paper is to describe how one dental school, the Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery, approached diversity, so that appropriate strategies can be shared among schools.
The Impact of Gender on High‐Stakes Dental Evaluations
Authors: Fields Henry W. , Fields Anne M. , Beck F. Michael
Published: June 2020

The purpose of this study was to determine whether gender affects high‐stakes test performance among dental students. Our sample consisted of 128 women and 323 men from six consecutive dental classes for which we recorded AADSAS overall and science predental GPAs; Dental Admission Test (DAT) scores; National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) I and II scores and pass/fail status; North East Regional Board of Dental Examiners (NERB) pass/fail status; and cumulative GPAs following the spring quarter of year two and summer quarter of year four of dental school. DAT scores, when controlled for previous academic performance, revealed that men significantly outperformed women in all areas except reading comprehension and biology, where the women's scores significantly exceeded the men's and were comparable, respectively. NBDE I results favored men and approached significance (p=0.066), while for Part II men significantly outscored women. NBDE I and II and NERB pass rates showed no significant differences. These board results were also controlled for previous academic performance. Although we found that differences existed between genders, which appear to be the ramification of the classic high‐stakes dilemma (women do as well as men in the classroom and on course‐related tests, but less well on gatekeeper board exams), the context mitigates their operational effects. DAT differences are likely reduced by most admissions processes, but may be problematic when selected predictive algorithms are used. Practically, the NBDE I and II results are unlikely to meaningfully influence women's academic progress in dental school or postgraduate education admissions due to their magnitude and timing.
Vitality of the Dentin‐Pulp Complex in Health and Disease: Growth Factors as Key Mediators
Authors: Smith Anthony J.
Published: June 2020

The vitality of the dentin‐pulp complex, both during tissue homeostasis and after injury, is dependent on pulp cell activity and the signalling processes, which regulate the behavior of these cells. Research, particularly over the last ten to fifteen years, has led to a better understanding of the molecular control of cellular behavior. Growth factors play a pivotal role in signalling the events of tissue formation and repair in the dentin‐pulp complex. Sequestration of growth factors in the dentin matrix during tissue formation provides a pool of these molecules, which may be released during injury and contribute to signalling of reparative events. Therapeutic intervention with recombinant growth factors also provides possibilities for control of cell activity during repair. Harnessing both endogenous and exogenous sources of growth factors can provide exciting opportunities for novel biological approaches to dental tissue repair and the blueprint for tissue engineering of the tooth. These approaches offer significant potential for improved clinical management of dental disease and maintenance of tooth vitality.
Prevention of Early Childhood Caries in North Carolina Medical Practices: Implications for Research and Practice>
Authors: Rozier R. Gary , Sutton Betty King , Bawden James W. , Haupt Kelly , Slade Gary D. , King Rebecca S.
Published: June 2020

Early childhood caries is a significant public health problem in low‐income children, with important negative consequences for the child and the family. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, implementation, and preliminary outcomes of preventive dentistry programs in North Carolina that target low‐income children from birth to thirty‐five months of age. The focus is on Into the Mouths of Babes, a statewide program in which pediatricians, family physicians, and providers in community health clinics are reimbursed by Medicaid to provide preventive dental services for children (risk assessment, screening, referral, fluoride varnish application) and caregivers (counseling). The provider intervention includes continuing medical education lectures and interactive sessions, practice guidelines for the patient interventions, case‐based problems, practical strategies for implementation, a toolkit with resource materials, and follow‐up training. In the first two years of the statewide program, 1,595 medical providers have been trained. The number of providers billing for these services has steadily increased, and by the last quarter of 2002, the number of visits in which preventive dental services were provided in medical offices reached 10,875. A total of 38,056 preventive dental visits occurred in medical offices in 2002. By the end of 2002, only sixteen of the state's one hundred counties had no pediatrician, family physician, or local health department participating. The preliminary results from this program demonstrate that nondental professionals can integrate preventive dental services into their practices. The program has increased access to preventive dental services for young Medicaid children whose access to dentists is restricted. Assessments of effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness of both the provider and patient interventions are under way.
Understanding Peri‐Implant Endosseous Healing
Authors: Davies John E.
Published: June 2020

If dental implantology is an increasingly successful treatment modality, why should we still need to understand the mechanisms of peri‐implant bone healing? Are there differences in cortical and trabecular healing? What does “poor quality” bone mean? What stages of healing are most important? How do calcium phosphate‐coated implants accelerate healing? What is the mechanism of bone bonding? While there are still many aspects of peri‐implant healing that need to be elucidated, it is now possible to deconvolute this biological reaction cascade, both phenomenologically and experimentally, into three distinct phases that mirror the evolution of bone into an exquisite tissue capable of regeneration. The first and most important healing phase, osteoconduction, relies on the recruitment and migration of osteogenic cells to the implant surface, through the residue of the peri‐implant blood clot. Among the most important aspects of osteoconduction are the knock‐on effects generated at the implant surface, by the initiation of platelet activation, which result in directed osteogenic cell migration. The second healing phase, de novo bone formation, results in a mineralized interfacial matrix equivalent to that seen in the cement line in natural bone tissue. These two healing phases, osteoconduction and de novo bone formation, result in contact osteogenesis and, given an appropriate implant surface, bone bonding. The third healing phase, bone remodeling, relies on slower processes and is not considered here. This discussion paper argues that it is the very success of dental implants that is driving their increased use in ever more challenging clinical situations and that many of the most important steps in the peri‐implant healing cascade are profoundly influenced by implant surface microtopography. By understanding what is important in peri‐implant bone healing, we are now able to answer all the questions listed above.
Problem‐Based Learning: Effects on Standard Outcomes
Authors: Susarla Srinivas M. , Medina‐Martinez Nancy , Howell T. Howard , Karimbux Nadeem Y.
Published: June 2020

Dental students at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) participate fully in the first two years of the curriculum with the Harvard Medical School (HMS) while also taking parallel dental classes. HSDM students were first exposed to problem‐based learning (PBL) in 1987 when the “New Pathway” curriculum was introduced at HMS in the first two years of the medical school curriculum (the HSDM courses remained traditional lecture‐based classes). In 1994, HSDM incorporated PBL into the first, second, and third (clinical year) year dental courses, and the curriculum shifted from a five‐year curriculum to a four‐year curriculum. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of PBL and program length on measurable outcomes for dental education: NBDE Part I scores, attrition and graduation rates, and percentage of graduates entering postdoctoral training programs. This study was designed as a retrospective analysis of outcomes data from 1980 to 2002. Univariate linear regressions were computed for each measure against each outcome. Subsequent bivariate regression analyses revealed that the implementation of PBL has markedly affected NBDE Part I scores, graduation rates, attrition rates, entrance into postdoctoral plans, and percentage of graduates entering GPR/AEGD programs, while program length has had an effect on graduation rates, attrition rates, entrance into postdoctoral programs, and percentage of graduates entering GPR/AEGD programs. The findings of this report suggest that the implementation of PBL combined with a change in program length has been successful for all outcomes measured and that PBL alone has contributed to the rise in NBDE Part I scores among HSDM graduates.
Effectiveness of Carbonated Beverage Education on Dental Students' Knowledge and Behavioral Intent
Authors: Cunningham Marsha A. , Marshall Teresa A.
Published: June 2020

The purpose of this paper is to describe educational efforts to increase dental students' knowledge concerning oral and systemic health effects of carbonated beverage (soda/pop) consumption. Multiple choice pre‐ and post‐tests were developed and administered to seventy‐three first‐year dental students. An educational brochure was developed and distributed during a lecture on the effects of soda/pop consumption, and four days later, a post‐test was administered. Three groups of third‐year dental students (n=19, 15, 17, respectively) also completed the pre‐ and post‐tests with different educational interventions for each group. Results indicated that the first‐year dental students' knowledge of the effects of soda/pop consumption improved significantly from a pre‐test score of 10.8 (68 percent) to a post‐test score of 14.0 (88 percent)(p<.01). On the post‐test, 70 percent of the first‐year dental students who reported soda/pop consumption indicated that they had considered changing their soda/pop drinking habits after reading the brochure and hearing the presentation. For third‐year dental students, there was no significant difference in pre‐ to post‐test scores. This survey shows that, for first‐year dental students, the combination of written and verbal education was effective in improving both knowledge and behavioral intent relative to carbonated beverage consumption.
The Need for Diversity in the Health Professions
Authors: Noonan Allan S. , Evans Caswell A.
Published: June 2020

The Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health remains a baseline document for addressing the issues of oral health disparities in America. With the problems of access to care and quality of care, cultural differences, history of discrimination, and ongoing severity of poverty, today there are many disturbing disparities in oral health status between people of color and the majority population. While the number of people of color is increasing, the number being prepared to provide quality oral health care is declining. The nation, the dental profession, and dental schools have not made adequate progress in the effort to develop a workforce that can address the disparities in oral health problems based on race and ethnicity. The Office of the Surgeon General is developing a National Oral Health Action Plan to help address these problems, but the role of dental schools is critical. Building a pipeline that will bring diverse people to the dental workforce must be a high priority for all involved. A substantial improvement in the diversity of the oral health student body and eventual workforce is a critical and essential element to achieving the goals of improving oral health and quality of life and eliminating health disparities.
The Establishment of Minority Affairs Offices in Schools of Dentistry: Pros and Cons
Authors: Ballard Billy R.
Published: June 2020

The establishment of Minority Affairs Offices in dental schools following the American Association of Medical Colleges' model is discussed as one method of addressing the declining enrollment and compounding oral health disparities of underrepresented minorities—African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans—in U.S. dental schools. The pros and cons of the approach are discussed, with recommendations.
Evaluation of a Fissure Sealant Program as Part of Community‐Based Teaching and Training
Authors: van Wyk Philippus J. , Kroon Jeroen , White John G.
Published: June 2020

Since 1995 the Department of Community Dentistry of the University of Pretoria has been involved in the rendering of mobile primary oral health care services to children in the Hammanskraal area of Gauteng, South Africa, as part of their students' community‐based training. Mokonyama Primary School was identified as the first school where a primary oral health care service could be rendered. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact (outcomes) of a fissure sealant program on the dentition status of the school children. Seven years after the implementation of the program, the dentition status of children at Mokonyama was compared with that of a comparable group of children from the same area who were not exposed to the program. The results showed that the decayed, missing, and filled teeth in the primary dentition (dmft) in the six‐year‐old group in Mokonyama (1.74) did not differ significantly from the dmft (1.43) of the control group (p=0.49). The decayed, missing, and filled teeth in the permanent dentition (DMFT) of 0.59 for the fifteen‐year‐old group in Mokonyama, however, differed significantly (p=0.0001) from the DMFT of the control group (2.38). Fifteen‐year‐old children in Mokonyama had 75.2 percent fewer caries than their counterparts in the control group.
Survey of Dental Student Financial Assistance, 2001‐02
Authors: Weaver Richard G. , Haden N. Karl , Valachovic Richard W.
Published: June 2020

The American Dental Education Association's 2001‐02 Survey of Dental Student Financial Assistance obtained data by which to report, in aggregate and by type of school, the amount of financial assistance being received by dental students, in the form of loans, grants and scholarships, and work‐study programs. Over 90 percent of the dental students received financial assistance through one or more federal, state, and/or school source. The average amount of assistance per student was $35,100, ranging from an average of $27,700 at public dental schools to $51,100 at private dental schools. Loan programs accounted for almost 88 percent of all financial assistance; grants and scholarships, for 12 percent; work‐study programs, for 0.2 percent. Overall, financial assistance exceeded average tuition and fees by 102 percent. With such levels of reliance on financial assistance, it remains imperative that students, even at the undergraduate level, receive the counseling, monitoring, and advice that will help them judiciously seek and manage appropriate types and amounts of financial assistance as they obtain their dental education.
Enrollment, Cost, and Academic Admission Criteria of U.S. Dental Schools by Geographic Region and Institution Type
Authors: Markiewicz Michael R.
Published: June 2020

This article presents the academic qualifications of matriculating dental students (as indicated by overall undergraduate GPA, undergraduate science GPA, average DAT scores, and average PAT scores) and total cost of education for students at U.S. dental schools according to geographic location and funding sources. Dental schools were divided on the basis of geographic location (Northeast, South, Central, or West) and principal means of funding (public versus private). Average four‐year total educational expenses as reported in the 1996–97 and 2000–01 matriculation years were compared as well as undergraduate overall GPA, science GPA, DAT academic average, and PAT score. Public dental schools in the southern region cost significantly less than any other region of any funding type. Public dental schools in the western region had significantly higher average GPA, average science GPA, DAT academic average, and PAT scores among their matriculating classes than did any other region. Public dental schools from the western region also had the least amount of increase in projected four‐year expenses between the two matriculation years compared. Excluding PAT scores, western public dental schools had the highest academic admission criteria of any region of either funding type.
Experience with Virtual Reality‐Based Technology in Teaching Restorative Dental Procedures
Authors: Buchanan Judith A.
Published: June 2020

This article reports on extensive experience with advanced simulation at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine (UPSDM). Virtual reality‐based technology (VRBT) or advanced simulation is currently available for the instruction of dental students in preclinical restorative procedures. UPSDM was one of the first schools in the world to have extensive experience with VRBT technology using an advanced simulation unit (DentSim) from DenX, Ltd. UPSDM's experience consists of several years of research using control and experimental groups, employing students to participate in an investigative project, and using the units for remediation and a supplement to the preclinical laboratory. Currently, all first‐year students (Class of 2007 and Class of 2008) are receiving most of their preparative operative training on the VRBT units. UPSDM started with one (beta) version unit in 1998, which was later updated and expanded first to four units and recently to fifteen units. This communication is presenting the studies that were of fundamental importance in making the decision to acquire fifteen units in 2003. The areas of main interest to the SDM concerning this technology were its use in teaching, refreshing, and remediating students in restorative procedures and its effectiveness as a teaching methodology in relation to time, efficiency, and faculty. Several studies with varying parameters were performed at various time points. The limited statistical analysis conducted was not conclusive for all measures, and in some cases the data only suggest areas of possible significance. This is due to the low number of students who could access the limited number of available units and the change of protocols in response to student and faculty input. Overall, the results do suggest, however, that students learn faster, arrive at the same level of performance, accomplish more practice procedures per hour, and request more evaluations per procedure or per hour than in our traditional laboratories. Students’ attitudes, as measured by surveys, group interviews, and private interviews, are mixed. Our overall evaluation of our experience with this technology has been positive and led to the purchase of additional units, its full incorporation into our curriculum, and curriculum revision to maximize its potential. Our conclusion is that this technology offers significant potential in the field of dental education and that further use and investigation are both desired and justified.
Dental Students with Hepatitis B: Issues to Be Considered When Defining Policies
Authors: Luu Nghe S.
Published: June 2020

Carriers of the Hepatitis B virus represent a significant proportion of the world's population. Since the existing policies on how to manage infected dental students lack clarity, the issues related to Hepatitis B and a set of recommendations for the adoption of a new policy will be presented here. After considering the virology, epidemiology, prevention, and treatment of Hepatitis B, the current health management policies will be reviewed, and ethical considerations, including the issue of disclosure, will be explored. The recommendations presented here for a new Canadian policy on infected health care workers include universal immunization, assessment of infectivity by measuring Hepatitis B DNA levels, and disclosure to patients on the basis of scientific evidence. These recommendations are intended to aid Canadian dental schools, and dental schools in other nations, with students who are carriers of Hepatitis B.
Mentorship: A Critical Component for Professional Growth and Academic Success
Authors: Schrubbe Katherine F.
Published: June 2020

Faculty in a twenty‐first century school of dentistry face a variety of daily challenges. Balancing teaching, research, and scholarship can be an overwhelming task for junior faculty and is influenced by the environment and the interactions we have with colleagues. Effective mentorship can play a critical role in professional growth and development as well as academic success. Excellent mentors provide a distinct vision and can guide their protégés to achieve the goals associated with these visions. Current literature supports the definitive characteristics that potential protégés and effective mentors exhibit and delineates how mentoring can enhance productivity, efficiency, and motivation. There is also evidence that formal mentoring programs have an overall positive impact on junior faculty and may assist in retention of dental school faculty. Successful mentors take protégés under their wings for guidance, inspiration, and encouragement and in the process create motivated, productive, and successful teachers and researchers, thus leaving a legacy. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature regarding the importance and benefits of excellent mentorship.
The Aging and Diminishing Dental Faculty
Authors: Livingston Harold M. , Dellinger Tracy M. , Hyde John C. , Holder Ray
Published: June 2020

A dire need for additional dental educators is emerging. This article reflects on the heavily skewed age groups of our current dental educators and the lack of sufficient new faculty to undertake the tasks of faculty members. A literature review is presented of previous studies monitoring the current demographics of dental faculty, projected trends, and factors that influence an individual's career choices concerning dental education involvement. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors are explored to offer potential avenues for interesting, recruiting, and retaining qualified individuals as dental faculty. The goal of this article is to stimulate thought‐provoking discussions and/or solutions within academic dentistry in regard to the question: Who will be our dental school faculty in the next decade?
Why Our Ethics Curricula Don't Work
Authors: Bertolami Charles N.
Published: June 2020

The impact our ethics curricula have on students seems marginal at best. Students take the ethics courses we offer and pass the tests we give, but no one's behavior changes as a result. We fundamentally see ourselves teaching about ethics, which is slightly different than teaching ethics—and expecting behavior to change as a result of what is taught. The premise of this article is that our ethics courses are inadequate in content and form to the extent that they do not cultivate an introspective orientation to professional life. In some cases they amount to little more than a study of various state dental practice acts or the Code of Ethics of the American Dental Association. Three specific weaknesses are identified in a typical ethics curriculum: 1) failure to recognize that more education is not the answer to everything; 2) ethics is boring; and 3) course content is qualitatively inadequate because it does not foster an introspective basis for true behavioral change. A fourth element, an innovation, is directed to this third weakness and entails implementing a precurriculum very early in the dental educational experience to address the disconnect between knowledge and action.
Financial Management and Dental School Equity, Part II: Tactics
Authors: Chambers David W. , Bergstrom Roy
Published: June 2020

Financial management includes all processes that build organizations' equity through accumulating assets in strategically important areas. The tactical aspects of financial management are budget deployment and monitoring. Budget deployment is the process of making sure that costs are fairly allocated. Budget monitoring addresses issues of effective uses and outcomes of resources. This article describes contemporary deployment and monitoring mechanisms, including revenue positive and marginal analysis, present value, program phases, options logic, activity‐based costing, economic value added, cost of quality, variance reconciliation, and balanced scorecards. The way financial decisions are framed affects comparative decision‐making and even influences the arithmetic of accounting. Familiarity with these concepts should make it possible for dental educators to more fully participate in discussions about the relationships between budgeting and program strategy.
Using Significant Event Analysis in Dental and Medical Education
Authors: Wilson Hamish J. , Ayers Kathryn M.S.
Published: June 2020

As part of a new professional development teaching strand at the University of Otago's School of Dentistry, final‐year dental students were each asked to write a “thought‐provoking episode report” (TPER). These TPERs formed the basis for group discussion in a professional development course. This article outlines the main content themes of the reports, comparing them with similar reports written by medical students from the same university. While both sets of reports demonstrate students' commitment to high standards of care, there were significant differences in the overall themes. Of the fifty‐one dental TPERs, the main themes were “difficult” patients, receiving conflicting advice from different clinical tutors, friends as patients, belittlement, and maintenance of professional standards. Key themes from medical students' TPERs included responding to patient suffering, observing or experiencing belittlement, uncertainty, error and complaints, the role of the undergraduate student, treating family and friends, causing distress in order to learn, and issues with mentoring. Possible interpretations of the similarities and differences in this data include confirmation of the value of personal experience as a basis for student discussion, the necessity for formal programs in professional development, and the presence of a hidden curriculum in dental and medical education.
Addressing Health Disparities Through Dental‐Medical Collaborations, Part III: Leadership for the Public Good
Authors: Mouradian Wendy E. , Huebner Colleen , DePaola Dominick
Published: June 2020

This is the third in a series of articles featuring dental‐medical collaborations to reduce oral health disparities. Previous articles have targeted disparities among children, the elderly, and those with mental retardation and developmental disabilities and the importance of cultural factors in health disparities. Articles in this third group describe projects that originated in the public health sector or utilize public health approaches. They include training of non‐dental providers and Head Start/Early Head Start workers in children's oral health promotion; case management to ensure early preventive medical, dental, and developmental services for children; and a dental school‐led outreach, training, and research effort to address oral cancer disparities. In this introductory article, we review lessons learned from the entire series of projects reported in these articles. The primary take‐home message is that educational changes are needed in dental and medical training to better address oral health disparities. Other important lessons include the value of local or state‐specific data, the need for partnerships with key stakeholders, and the role of financial incentives in leveraging change. We recommend more attention to outcome assessments in educational initiatives, greater partnering with families and patients, and utilization of change‐management methodologies with systems, providers, and patients. We also advocate increased collaboration with the public health sector and bold leadership in dental education.
Enrichment and Recruitment Programs at Dental Schools: Impact on Enrollment of Underrepresented Minority Students
Authors: Gravely Tamara , McCann Ann , Brooks Ernestine , Harman William , Schneiderman Emet
Published: June 2020

Dental schools have created summer enrichment and recruitment programs to increase enrollment of underrepresented and disadvantaged students. Enrichment programs strengthen students' academic skills in the areas of basic medical sciences, communications, test taking, and other learning strategies. The purpose of this study was to identify program characteristics of summer enrichment and recruitment programs and to determine which characteristics predicted participant enrollment in dental school. Twenty‐three schools received a survey, and seventeen responded for a response rate of 74 percent. The majority of program participants were underrepresented minority (URM) students (program median=99 percent). The leading program goals were to increase minority enrollment (47 percent) and URM competitiveness (35 percent). The median program length was seven weeks and forty hours per week. Programs offered the following components: basic sciences (thirty‐two median hours), DAT review/preparation (thirty median hours), introduction to dentistry (sixteen median hours), preclinical laboratory activities (sixteen median hours), and learning strategies (nine median hours). The length of program time in existence was a significant predictor of participant enrollment into dental school (R square=.320; p=.035). The overall median percentage for dental school enrollment in the study was 52.3 percent. The directors of six programs who place more than 60 percent of their students in dental school were interviewed. They reported that mentorship, institutional support, program structure, and admission policies were key factors contributing to success. It is concluded that recruitment and enrichment programs are a viable option to increase URM dental school enrollment.
Impact of Underreporting on the Management of Occupational Bloodborne Exposures in a Dental Teaching Environment
Authors: Kotelchuck David , Murphy Denise , Younai Fariba
Published: June 2020

The objectives of this study were to determine the rates of bloodborne exposures experienced by junior and senior dental students at a large dental teaching institution during 2001–02 and the percentages of these bloodborne exposures that were reported by the students to their designated counselors. Two hundred and four third‐ and fourth‐year students voluntarily and anonymously filled out a questionnaire on the numbers of bloodborne exposures they had experienced and reported. Sixty‐seven (32.8 percent) reported experiencing 109 occupational exposures (OEs) to blood or other potentially infectious materials. This corresponds to an OE rate of 80 ± 7.7 exposures/100 person‐years, far in excess of the highest recorded student rate (7.18 ± 0.52) in a previous study. Twenty‐six students (39 percent) reported two or more exposures each. Only 19 percent of exposures were reported to the school counselor, with 35 percent reported by third‐year students and only 14.5 percent by fourth‐year students. Thus the large differential in reported exposure rates between third‐ and fourth‐year students found in our earlier study might have been an artifact of the sharply different reporting rates of these two groups. These results suggest an urgent need to reexamine the reliability of the present reporting system for such OEs. Also this study indicates that the gender differences in OE rates reported in our earlier study were due primarily to differential reporting by male and female students, not differences in their underlying OE rates.
Implications for Designing Online Oral Health Resources: A Review of Fifty‐Six Websites
Authors: Kim Sara , Mouradian Wendy E. , Leggott Penelope J. , Schaad Douglas C. , Shaul Cheryl
Published: June 2020

We conducted a review of websites in oral health to identify content areas of our target interest and design features that support content and interface design. An interprofessional team evaluated fifty‐six oral health websites originating from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and associations (28.6 percent), regional/state agencies (21.4 percent), federal government (19.6 percent), academia (19.6 percent), and commercial (10.7 percent) sources. A fifty‐two item evaluation instrument covered content and web design features, including interface design, site context, use of visual resources, procedural skills, and assessment. Commercial sites incorporated the highest number of content areas (58.3 percent) and web design features (47.1 percent). While the majority of the reviewed sites covered content areas in anticipatory guidance, caries, and fluorides, materials in risk assessment, oral screening, cultural issues, and dental/medical interface were lacking. Many sites incorporated features to help users navigate the content and understand the context of the sites. Our review highlights a major gap in the use of visual resources for posting didactic information, demonstrating procedural skills, and assessing user knowledge. Finally, we recommend web design principles to improve online interactions with visual resources.