European Journal of Dental Education最新文献

The rapid convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and Assistive Technologies (AT) is transforming education, especially its accessibility and inclusivity. This commentary resulted from a think-tank during a colloquium of academics and practitioners from Europe, Africa, and North America, who came together for two intensive days of keynote presentations, thematic panels, and collaborative workshops to examine AI's promise in healthcare education. Participants highlighted three interwoven themes: employing universal design principles to AI-driven learning experiences; balancing innovation with digital equity; and crafting policy frameworks that encourage adoption while guarding against algorithmic bias. Yet significant hurdles persist-ethical dilemmas around data privacy, bias in machine learning models, and a digital division between resource-rich and resource-poor groups and countries. To address these challenges, the following recommendations emerged: foster interdisciplinary research partnerships, establish transparent AI governance structures, and invest in scalable assistive technologies. Ultimately, continued international collaboration is needed to ensure AI becomes a force for narrowing, not widening, educational disparities-and to secure a future where accessible learning is a reality for all.

Introduction: The practice of Continuing Dental Education (CDE) serves as a fundamental requirement for lifelong learning but there is limited knowledge about how dental students handle CDE during their final educational period. This study examined how final-year French dental students perceive CDE through their expectations, motivation and their decision-making methods.

Methods: In 2024 and 2025, an online questionnaire was distributed to final year students from all French dental faculties. The survey contained 45 questions categorized into three sections that assessed: (1) self-evaluation of participants' knowledge across all dental fields, (2) participants' objectives regarding future clinical practice and (3) awareness of existing CDE.

Results: One hundred and seventy one students responded to the survey which represented a response rate of 13.5%. Only 36.2% of the respondents were fully satisfied with undergraduate training, and the disciplines most often perceived as insufficient (implantology, oral surgery, fixed prosthodontics) were also those most desired for CDE or specialization. Students demonstrated trust in university-based programs while selecting diploma-granting courses but only 10.5% of them had selected a specific educational path. Students primarily used the Internet for information retrieval, but they prefer in-person interactive and clinical training courses over digital courses.

Conclusion: For French dental students, CDE is seen both as lifelong learning and a way to fill training gaps, highlighting the need for clearer guidance and practice-oriented, evidence-based courses.

Background: Complete and well-documented orthodontic records reflect clinician proficiency and ensure smooth care transitions, especially in educational settings.

Aim: This clinical audit evaluates the quality of orthodontic practice, focusing on documentation, attendance, emergency handling, and financial management at the orthodontic postgraduate clinic.

Methods: This clinical audit included 110 patients who completed their orthodontic treatment care under postgraduate students from April 2023 to June 2024. The audit checklist was adapted from the available standards and guidelines. The audit was divided into two parts: details of the tenth criteria for the examination and diagnosis (ED) form and six assessment attributes, namely, treatment progress records. The level of compliance was measured as the percentage of records meeting the criteria. The data were statistically analysed with SPSS.

Results: Out of the records reviewed, 80 (72.7%) were found to be fully documented, although radiographic findings and supervisor signatures were frequently missing. Additionally, 64.5% of patients had non-attendance exceeding 8 weeks, which was strongly correlated with longer treatment times (r = 0.744, p < 0.01). A small proportion had multiple emergency appointments, but notably, no adverse events were reported. Treatment duration differed by IOTN (p = 0.003), with patients having an IOTN score of 5 experiencing the longest treatment duration. On average, patients completed their payments in 23.74 ± 14.24 months. The strengths of this audit included a structured checklist and actionable recommendations.

Conclusion: The clinical audit showed high compliance with ED form and treatment progress documentation, highlighting strengths, identifying gaps, and emphasizing accuracy, confidentiality, and improvement.

Introduction: The attitudes of dental students, expected to serve as role models for patients, have the potential to enhance their oral health. Therefore, it is essential to reinforce students' oral care attitudes throughout dental education. This study aims to assess the impact of dental education on students' oral care attitudes and behaviours, as well as the effectiveness of tooth brushing and plaque removal.

Materials and methods: The study was conducted at the Department of Periodontology, Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry, with a study group consisting of 35 first-year and 35 fifth-year students from the 2023-2024 academic year. The Hiroshima University Dental Behaviour Inventory (HU-DBI) was used to evaluate participants' attitudes towards oral health and their oral health habits. The Rustogi Modified Navy Plaque Index was used to assess the participants' tooth brushing efficiency and plaque scores.

Results: The overall mean HU-DBI score among students was 7.00 ± 1.39. First-year students had a mean score of 6.51 ± 1.52, whereas fifth-year students had a significantly higher mean score of 7.49 ± 1.07 (p < 0.05). Plaque scores significantly decreased after brushing in both first-year and fifth-year students (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was found when comparing plaque index values between the classes. Although there was no statistically significant correlation between total questionnaire scores and plaque index values, a tendency was observed in which plaque values decreased as questionnaire scores increased.

Conclusion: This study indicates that dental education has a positive effect on students' attitudes and behaviours regarding oral health.

Introduction: The preclinical dental curriculum has a heavy emphasis on the care of adults and permanent dentition. Students have less exposure to the care of the child and topics pertaining to primary and transitional dentition as well as developing occlusions. Therefore, students often struggle to understand the impact of premature loss of primary teeth, the concepts of space management, and clinical applications of this knowledge. To address this challenge, an active learning experience was developed and integrated into the D2 Paediatric Dentistry lecture series (December 2023).

Materials and methods: Students used dental models made from foam board to physically act out scenarios where different primary teeth were prematurely lost and simulated the effect the missing tooth had on the occlusion, with and without space management. The activity also allowed selection of the appropriate space maintenance appliances. Pre- and post-tests were used to understand learning gains and students' experiences.

Results: Data confirmed that most students (55/64) had no or limited exposure to space management concepts prior to the module. Additionally, students' knowledge and confidence increased as a function of the training (the activity and lecture). The majority of students indicated that the active demonstration was helpful (m = 3.47/4) and engaging (m = 3.41/4); they also confirmed that it helped visualise space management processes (m = 3.43/4).

Conclusions: Overall, these data suggest that this easy-to-implement activity is a helpful tool for teaching space management in paediatric dentistry modules and could be adapted to aid students in visualising other dental processes or concepts in the health sciences.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess postgraduate dental students' attitudes, experiences, and educational preparedness in providing care to individuals with intellectual and learning disabilities (ILD), while identifying institutional and systemic barriers.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 195 postgraduate dental students at a dental school between April and October 2024. A validated self-administered questionnaire evaluated demographics, clinical experience, training background, and perceived confidence. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis.

Results and discussion: Among 102 respondents, 76.5% reported experience treating patients with ILD, although 63.7% had treated fewer than ten per year. The most cited challenges were behavioural and communication difficulties (90.2%). Only 7.8% received both theoretical and clinical training at the undergraduate level, and 82.4% viewed postgraduate training as insufficient. Despite these gaps, 66.7% were willing to provide care if referral systems and infrastructure improved. Additionally, 63.7% expressed interest in short, non-degree training, and 78.4% believed improved physical environments would increase their confidence. These findings reflect widespread educational and systemic limitations that undermine preparedness and contribute to treatment hesitancy.

Conclusions: Postgraduate dental students in Thailand report limited preparedness and confidence in treating patients with ILD due to educational and institutional deficits. Targeted improvements in curriculum, infrastructure and referral systems are essential to enable equitable access to dental care for this underserved population.

Introduction: This study compares the performance of five major large language models (LLMs)-OpenAI ChatGPT 4o and o1, Anthropic Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google Gemini Advanced 1.5 Pro and Google Gemini Advanced 2.0 Experimental Advanced-on endodontics-related questions from the Turkish Dentistry Specialization Entrance Exam (DUS) from 2017 to 2024.

Method: A total of 93 text-based questions were used to evaluate each model's accuracy in answering specialized dental knowledge queries.

Results: The results revealed significant differences among the models, with GPT o1 achieving the highest success rate (89.2%) and Gemini Advanced 1.5 Pro the lowest (67.7%). Performance varied by language, with GPT-4o and GPT o1 showing improved accuracy post-2022. Additionally, query repetition influenced model responses, with some models exhibiting self-correction abilities, while others consistently maintained incorrect answers.

Conclusion: The study highlights the strengths and limitations of current LLMs in domain-specific assessments, emphasizing the role of reasoning-based architectures like GPT o1's Chain of Thought (CoT) methodology. These findings underscore the need for continued advancements in AI-driven education, particularly in dental specialization exams. While LLMs show potential as supplementary tools in dental education, their integration into real-world applications requires further validation to ensure reliability and domain-specific proficiency.

Introduction: Evidence-based dentistry (EBD) refers to the use of the best available evidence in combination with clinical expertise and patient values to guide clinical decision-making. Whilst evidence-based medicine (EBM) is widely adopted in medicine, EBD is much less frequently used in dentistry. Research into dental students' views towards EBD is limited. Understanding the views of this group is essential to increasing adoption of EBD among the dental profession.

Aim: This study assessed final-year undergraduate dentistry students' knowledge, perception, and attitudes towards EBD, and identified barriers to its routine use.

Methods: A 3-month cross-sectional study was conducted among 276 final-year dental students from eight European universities. Data were collected using an online questionnaire.

Results: Students demonstrated good understanding of the principles of EBD and reported positive attitudes towards EBD, recognising its value in clinical decision-making and professional development. Significant differences in knowledge around EBD were observed between countries. The most frequently reported barrier to the use of EBD was insufficient training (61.6%), followed by a lack of confidence in interpreting research findings (59.4%), and limited access to relevant journals (47.8%).

Conclusion: Dental students acknowledge the importance of EBD, but their knowledge and skills in this area are limited. Insufficient training is the primary barrier, pointing to an urgent need for curriculum change. EBD should be integrated into undergraduate dental curricula, emphasising skills in literature search, critical appraisal, and applying evidence to clinical scenarios. Dedicated educational programmes are essential to prepare future dentists for evidence-based care.

This perspective highlights the urgent need to rethink how academia in health professions education (HPE) engages with artificial intelligence (AI), moving away from a reactive, enforcement-driven mindset toward a more forward-looking, educationally sound approach. The current culture, shaped by suspicion, moral panic, and unreliable detection technologies risks undermining fairness, student trust, and meaningful learning. The current assessment models built for a pre-AI world may no longer be fit for purpose, and universities must redesign assessments to prioritise real-time demonstration of competence, higher-order skills, and authentic learning experiences that AI cannot replicate. Central to this shift is the development of robust AI literacy for both students and faculty to promote responsible and authentic use of AI, and enable learners to critique and verify its outputs, and how to integrate it as a legitimate learning partner rather than a prohibited shortcut. By embracing AI with clarity and purpose, HPE can move from policing to empowering, ensuring that assessments remain credible and learning remains relevant in an AI-driven future clinical environment.

Introduction: The "Code Blue" system is a standardised emergency response protocol designed to ensure rapid intervention in critical medical situations, particularly cardiopulmonary arrest. Although mandatory in Türkiye since 2011, inappropriate activations still occur, often due to limited awareness among healthcare staff, including dental students. This pilot project aimed to assess dental students' knowledge and awareness regarding Code Blue and to examine whether these outcomes differ according to the level of clinical training.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 186 dental students at Akdeniz University, including 3rd-year (preclinical) and 5th-year (clinical) students. A structured 10-item multiple-choice questionnaire was used to evaluate participants' knowledge of Code Blue indications, activation procedures, and response expectations. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were performed.

Results: Of the 186 students analysed, 53.2% were female and 46.8% were male. The most recognised emergency code was Code White (82.26%), followed by Code Blue (70.43%). Code Blue awareness was significantly higher among fifth-year students (77.3%) than third-year students (62.9%) (p < 0.05). Fifth-year students also demonstrated greater knowledge of Code Blue indications and were less likely to choose "don't know." However, common misinterpretations were observed: 70.49% incorrectly identified vasovagal syncope as a Code Blue condition, and only 7.38% correctly rejected all non-indicated scenarios. Knowledge of basic life support (BLS) content did not significantly differ between groups (p = 0.8153).

Conclusions: Code Blue knowledge and awareness were higher among students with greater clinical exposure; however, overall awareness remained limited. These findings support earlier and more structured integration of institutional emergency code training, simulation-based reinforcement, and practical emergency preparedness training within the dental curriculum. Further multi-center studies are recommended to enhance generalizability and guide educational interventions.