Journal of Dental Education最新文献

Purpose/objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between personality type and empathy levels among dental students and to determine whether communication skills serve as a potential mediator in this relationship.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 272 clinical stage dental students (fourth and fifth year) from two universities in Türkiye during the 2024-2025 academic year. Data were collected using a web-based questionnaire that included the Personality Inventory, the short form of the Communication Skills Inventory, and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student version (JSPE-S). Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 23 software. Mediation analysis was conducted using Process Macro version 4.2 (Model 4) with 5.000 bootstrap samples.

Results: Personality type was weakly negatively correlated with communication skills (r = -0.229, p < 0.001) and very weakly with empathy levels (r = -0.147, p = 0.015). A moderate positive correlation was observed between communication skills and empathy scores (r = 0.416, p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that personality type was significantly associated with empathy levels (p = 0.04), although this association became nonsignificant (p = 0.911) when communication skills were added to the model. Communication skills remained significantly associated with empathy levels (p < 0.001), a one-unit increase in communication being associated with a 0.987-unit increase in empathy levels. The indirect association (-0.1) was significant, indicating a potential mediating role of communication skills.

Conclusion: Communication skills may mediate the association between personality type and empathy levels among clinical stage dental students. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating communication skills training into dental education to support the development of empathic competence. However, the interpretation of personality-related findings should be approached with caution due to the limited internal consistency of the personality inventory used in this sample.

Objectives: Panoramic radiography is commonly used in the management of dental-alveolar pathology. Novice clinicians are prone to technical errors that diminish the diagnostic quality of radiographs. The objective of this study was to analyze technical errors made during panoramic exposures by third-year (D3) dental students in order to enhance educational outcomes.

Methods: Four panoramic formative assessments (FAs) and one final summative assessment (SA) conducted by D3 students were evaluated. Technical errors-including misalignment of Frankfort plane, midsagittal plane, focal trough, tongue and spinal positioning, presence of foreign objects, and exposure errors-were recorded. Error counts and probabilities, as well as changes in error patterns across assessments, were analyzed using the Clopper-Pearson interval and the SCORE method, respectively.

Results: The most common errors among D3 students were chin up (41.02%), head rotation (24.84%), tongue placement errors (17.19%), chin down (16.36%), head tilt (9.91%), and presence of foreign objects (9.14%). Students made up to four errors/exposure, with most making either one (37.93%) or two (36.12%) errors. The majority of images were diagnostic, with only three nondiagnostic images in FA2 and one in FA3. Although there was no statistically significant difference in error probabilities across assessments, an increasing trend in Frankfort plane, midsagittal plane, and spinal positioning errors was observed in SA.

Conclusions: All D3 students passed SA by producing diagnostic panoramic radiographs, demonstrating the effectiveness of clinical instruction. However, errors involving Frankfort plane, midsagittal plane, and spinal positioning persisted, suggesting that enhanced instructional focus on these areas is necessary to optimize the imaging performance of dental students.

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of academic entitlement (AE) and its correlation with academic performance and demographic factors across five US dental schools.

Methods: Predoctoral dental students were assessed for AE level using two validated survey instruments (A and B). Based on median academic entitlement score (AES) for each instrument, student responses were categorized into high or low AE. The AES was correlated with the demographic background, program-related variables, and academic performance using Pearson's chi-squared, Fisher's exact, and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests (p < 0.05).

Results: Based on admission statistics from the surveyed dental schools, the survey achieved a 17% response rate (502/2944). Of the 502 respondents, 70 students (13.9%) exhibited high AE, scoring above the median AES on one or both instruments. The highest-scoring AE statements pertained to students' expectations of professors regarding exam preparation and grading policies. Demographic factors, including dental class, age, gender, and advanced standing status, did not significantly correlate with AES. Ethnicity correlated with AES only in survey Instrument B. Although not statistically significant, students with self-reported exam failure or course remediation tended to have higher AE.

Conclusions: The prevalence of AE among dental students is relatively low, with 13.9% (70/502) exhibiting high AE. Most demographic factors and program variables did not have a significant impact on AE levels. However, there is a trend toward higher AE among students who reported exam failures or course remediations, suggesting a need for further investigation into factors influencing AE in dental education.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the educational impact and perceived relevance of a pedagogical escape game designed to reinforce key concepts related to dental biomaterials.

Methods: In 2023, a modular escape game comprising four mandatory stations and one bonus station was developed and integrated into two pedagogical settings: a compulsory practical session for fourth-year dental undergraduates (n = 179) and a voluntary continuing education event for dental professionals (n = 18). Participants completed a 15-item true/false knowledge questionnaire immediately before and after gameplay. Responses were analyzed to determine individual knowledge progression. A 14-item feedback questionnaire with a Likert scale was used to collect participant perceptions of the educational value, motivational impact, and satisfactoriness of the game.

Results: No statistically significant between-group differences were observed between the pre- and post-test mean scores of undergraduates and professionals; both groups demonstrated significant knowledge improvement following the game (p < 0.05). Satisfaction was high in both groups (mean scores of 4.83  ±  0.47 and 4.72  ±  0.46 for undergraduates and professionals, respectively), and the game was widely considered useful for knowledge reinforcement. Undergraduates rated the clinical applicability and pacing of the game more favorably than professionals did (p < 0.05). The success rate, defined as completing the mandatory stations in the allotted time, was 53% for undergraduates and 0% for professionals.

Conclusion: The game contributed to measurable learning gains and received high approval from both learner populations. Its modular design supports implementation across diverse educational contexts in dentistry.

Objective: To prevent and manage oral disease, oral health care practitioners (OHCPs) must provide dietary counseling based on nutrition science. OHCPs are often ill-equipped to provide such counseling due to fragmented and inadequate dietary education, which is typically attributed to limited curricular time or appropriately qualified faculty. Perhaps a more significant barrier is the absence of agreement on diet and nutrition competencies to guide oral health curricular content. Our objective was to define a framework of diet and nutrition competencies for the graduating oral health care student.

Methods: Initially, we identified the core diet and nutrition knowledge and associated educational objectives necessary to facilitate effective dietary counseling to support oral health. Subsequently, we identified behavioral expectations with evaluation criteria for diet and nutrition oral health competencies.

Results: Diet and nutrition oral health domains secondary to food choices, dietary behaviors, and/or nutrient intakes included caries, erosion, periodontal disease, and oral cancer, while outcomes of oral disease impacting food choices and dietary behaviors included oral dysfunction. Fundamental diet and nutrition principles supporting oral and systemic health and counseling skillsets were identified. Behavioral expectations for OHCPs for each oral health domain were articulated. For example, the behavioral expectation for caries competency is "Identifies and addresses diet-related caries risk factors within the context of environmental and social barriers."

Conclusions: A framework to identify the knowledge base for and define diet and nutrition oral health competencies is presented as a foundation to advance diet and nutrition-related oral health education.