Journal of Dental Education最新文献

Purpose: To assess dental students' understanding of oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) practice areas and examine changes in referral preferences across their educational progression in Israel.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 349 dental students from two Israeli universities (46.5% response rate). The primary independent variable was the year of study (pre-clinical vs. clinical years). The main outcome variables included perceptions of OMFS scope and referral preferences for various procedures. Covariates included demographics and prior OMFS exposure. Chi-square tests, linear trend analysis, and mediation analysis were performed.

Results: Students in clinical years exhibited a broader understanding of OMFS scope compared to pre-clinical years. Referral preferences to OMFS increased significantly for complex procedures like facial skeletal deformities (46.2% to 61.3%, p = 0.004) and oral cancer (66.2% to 78.9%, p = 0.008). The perception of extractions as the primary OMFS procedure increased from 63.6% in the first year to 77.6% in the sixth year (p = 0.033). Personal and family experiences with OMFS significantly mediated the relationship between year of study and referral tendencies (16.2% of total effect mediated, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Clinical exposure improves understanding of OMFS capabilities, leading to increased referrals for complex procedures. However, several practice areas remain underrecognized, highlighting the need for improved educational interventions.

Background: A dental anesthesia simulation model (DASM) is a tool for the teaching and learning of local dental anesthesia techniques. We investigated how dental anesthesia teachers (DATs) perceive the value of those tools.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the following: the characteristics of the dental anesthesia curriculum used by DATs in Mexico; the DATs' opinion of ethical issues in the teaching of local dental anesthesia; the DATs' perception of the value of using a DASM to teach local dental anesthesia; and the characteristics of the implementation of a DASM by DATs.

Methods: Dental anesthesia teachers in Mexico answered an online questionnaire with 34 items. The questionnaire had five sections that explored the objective of the study. The results were analyzed with a chi-square test (p < 0.05) or with the Tau-c test (p < 0.05).

Results: One hundred twenty dental anesthesia teachers participated in the study. A total of 37.5% perceived a very high value of using a DASM to teach local dental anesthesia. No significant statistical differences were found when the level of perception was analyzed using the variable of whether the participants used a simulation model for teaching. Half of the participants had access to a simulation model, but only 29.2% used a simulation model for teaching. Most of the participants did not know how to use a DASM for teaching.

Conclusion: Dental anesthesia teachers had a positive perception of simulation models. However, they did not use them, nor were they prepared to use them.

Objectives: Preclinical dental education can challenge students' wellbeing. These challenges are multifaceted and are experienced differently across student populations. However, an in-depth understanding of these challenges and the changes in the students' response to them remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to explore the wellbeing experiences of preclinical dental students and the strategies they developed to maintain their wellbeing over two time points: the academic years 2021/2022 and 2012/2013.

Methods: A case study was conducted using qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with preclinical dental students in 2021/2022. Data were thematically analyzed, and data from the Dental Student Study Habits Survey in 2012/2013 were later used for triangulation.

Results: Fifteen students participated in the interviews. Twenty-four students participated in the 2012/2013 survey in the beginning of the academic year. Three themes emerged-uncertain transitions, challenging interactions, and multifaceted impact and balancing strategies-along with various subthemes. Students in 2012/3013 reported high levels of stress, anxiety, overwhelm, and fatigue during dental school in comparison with other time points, and most students in both periods reported developing physical, phycological, and social strategies to maintain their wellbeing. The lack of time was found to be a barrier for practicing stress management strategies across the two time points.

Conclusion: Students experience several challenges in preclinical dental education that negatively impacts their wellbeing and seem to persist over the past decade. It is important that dental education programs consider inclusive and nurturing teaching approaches in the learning environment to support students' wellbeing and performance.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess trends related to integrated questions created by fourth-year dental students as a part of the Basic Science and Clinical Science Spiral Seminar Series (BaSiCSsss) at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM).

Methods: Deidentified BaSiCSsss presentations from 2019 to 2023 were obtained from the Office of Academic Affairs at TUSDM. The integrated questions created by fourth-year dental students were extracted and compiled into an Excel sheet. Following the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE) guidelines for the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE) question construction, each question was evaluated on 13 distinct categories. The categories consisted of 10 foundational knowledge (FK) and three clinical content (CC) areas. Calibration of the two investigators (Kyle E. Wright and Samar Shaikh) was performed. The chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to evaluate trends of FK and CC category representation across the 4 years.

Results: Twelve hundred fifty-six questions were extracted from the BaSiCSsss presentations between academic years 2019 and 2023. CC1 (diagnosis and treatment planning) emerged as the most represented category at 44.2% of the questions while FK2 (physics and chemistry to explain normal biology and pathobiology) had the least representation at 1.1%. Statistically significant year-to-year differences (p < 0.05) were identified in FK1, FK5, FK6, FK8, CC1, and CC2 with FK5, FK6, and CC2 exhibiting a notable downward trend over the 4 years.

Conclusion: The current study highlights the trends in student-created integrated questions. Understanding these trends may aid in curriculum development, focusing on areas with decreasing representation and ensuring a balanced coverage of topics optimizing learning outcomes.

Purpose: Clinical instructors are responsible for educating dental hygiene students in the patient care environment. While these instructors have experience in the dental field, they often do not have pedagogical training, or a background, related to education. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of dental professionals who transitioned from clinical practitioners to clinical instructors at one US dental hygiene program in 2022. As the theoretical underpinning for this study, andragogy offered a lens through which to tailor the creation of training opportunities distinctive to the needs of adult learners. The central research question for this study was, "What are the experiences of dentists and dental hygienists who have transitioned from clinical practice to the role of clinical instructors?" The subquestions guiding this study were "What forms of education, professional development, or support are necessary to help guide the transition from healthcare professional to clinical instructor?" and "How can this education, professional development, or support be delivered to clinical instructors in a way that meets their needs as adult learners?"

Methods: A transcendental phenomenological approach enabled a deeper understanding of participants' experiences and their thought processes as they transitioned from clinical practitioners to their roles as clinical instructors. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit dentists and dental hygienists who served as clinical instructors in a dental hygiene program at a midwestern public university. Data collection was triangulated using individual interviews, photograph journals, and a virtual focus group. Data analysis was conducted using epoché, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variance, and synthesis of the structural and textural descriptions gathered during data collection.

Results: A total of 13 clinical faculty members participated in all three parts of the study. Five themes were derived from the data collection: life responsibilities, challenges faced, training received, training needed, and training delivery preferences. These themes helped to create an understanding of the phenomena of transitioning from clinical practitioner to clinical instructor as the participants experienced it in addition to training delivery preferences.

Conclusion: The study's findings highlighted the importance of training dentists and dental hygienists to become clinical instructors while using andragogical principles. IRB approval: This project received Institutional Review Board (IRB) exemption from Liberty University (IRB-FY22-23-285).

Purpose/objectives: Limited access to oral care disproportionately affects underserved populations. Community-based clinical education (CBCE) could address this health inequity. The purpose of this study was to compare the identified barriers and benefits of implementing CBCE in the curricula of US dental and dental hygiene education programs.

Methods: In the fall of 2023, a survey developed through focus groups was sent to 387 CBCE leaders in US dental and dental hygiene programs that were accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).

Results: There were 129 survey responses for a 33% response rate. There were statistically significant differences in institutional barriers: losing school production (p = 0.04), COVID-19 pandemic (p = 0.02), CODA process for accreditation of major sites (p < 0.01), CODA standards (p = 0.01), number of dental chairs in school clinic (p = 0.03), and length of dental/dental hygiene program too short (p < 0.01); and human resource barriers: student transportation (p < 0.01), faculty buy-in (p = 0.01), and student housing (p < 0.01). Benefits included: raising student awareness of social determinants of health (p = 0.04), increasing oral health workforce (p < 0.01), and engagement with harder clinical cases (p < 0.01).

Conclusion(s): There were differences in the identified barriers and benefits to implementing CBCE in the curricula of US dental and dental hygiene education programs. The findings could inform the feasibility of implementing CBCE in both education programs, as well as address health inequities in access to oral care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to obtain a validated consensus among expert periodontists in Saudi Arabia regarding end-of-periodontics-residency-training entrustable professional activities (EPAs) using a modified Delphi method.

Methods: The study consisted of two phases. A preliminary phase in which experts met and proposed an initial list of EPAs following an extensive literature review. The second phase consisted of two rounds of the modified Delphi method in which expert periodontists in Saudi Arabia determined the content validity of each EPA. This was determined with a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (not important/relevant) to 5 (very important/relevant), and the mean score for each EPA was calculated. EPAs with a mean value of ≤ 4 or agreement rate among experts of less than 80% were excluded.

Results: An initial list of 40 EPAs was proposed. A total of 30 expert periodontists participated in the first round, and 24 participated in the second round of the modified Delphi method ratings. Most of the participants were program directors and represented different programs and cities in Saudi Arabia. Five EPAs were removed, and a final list of EPAs was produced based on the defined criteria. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.920, indicating high reliability.

Conclusions: A final list of 35 end-of-periodontics-training EPAs was produced. The findings of this study can serve as a valuable resource for curriculum development, assessments, and evaluation of periodontics training programs in Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: The triple jump examination (TJE) has been instituted at the Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California (OSDUSC) since 2001 as an assessment tool of critical thinking skills for its learner-centered pedagogy. A 2013 study detailed the TJE's design, validity, and initial outcomes. The current study focused on its 13-year sustainability including a transition from in-person to hybrid TJE by assessing outcomes from the graduating Classes of 2014 through 2026.

Methods: The study was approved by the USC Institutional Review Board (#UP-21-00272-AM001). To assess sustainability, the study first examined agreements among TJE faculty raters based on a total of 10,512 TJEs given to 1872 students from the 13 classes. Next, to determine whether the effectiveness of TJE was impacted by the transition from traditional to hybrid TJE, an independent t-test was performed to examine student performance between the two exam delivery methods based on 4896 TJEs given to 864 students.

Results: The study observed a high level of agreement among faculty raters throughout the study period. The general agreement rates, exact agreement rates, and disagreement rates averaged 99.2%, 77.3%, and 0.8%, respectively. Students' TJE performance was similar between the traditional and hybrid delivery methods (p-value = 0.629 > 0.05, t critical two-tail = 2.074, t stat = 0.489).

Conclusion: The TJE at OSDUSC proves to be a sustainable and reliable instrument with high internal consistency among raters when evaluating students' performance. The transition from traditional to hybrid TJE has no impact on the TJE's effectiveness.