Current differences in dental education between Chinese and Western models

Evaluating the effectiveness of a novel digital evaluation technology on dental preclinical crown preparation training

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the assessment scores of a novel digital training program versus traditional training in dental preclinical crown preparation.

METHODS

Crown preparations in two consecutive preclinical training sessions were retrospectively collected and assigned to three groups: traditional group (TG), scanning group (SG), and digital evaluation group (DG). Students in the TG (n = 20) were taught by conventional visual grading, while students in the SG (n = 25) received three-dimensional feedback from digitally scanned preparations. All the SG students continued with supplementary digital evaluation and preparations were allocated into the DG (n = 25). Comparison of total scores between groups was investigated using independent samples t-test and paired samples t-test. Mann‒Whitney U-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to statistically analyze the differences in subdividing categories. The level of significance was p < 0.05. Questionnaires on the digital evaluation procedure were answered by students in DG.

RESULTS

The results showed a significant improvement (p < 0.01) in the total scores of DG than those of TG and SG, while there were no statistically significant differences between TG and SG. Scores of surface finish and undercut improved significantly in DG compared to TG and SG. The reduction scores of DG were significantly higher than those of SG. Students' feedback indicated a positive perspective on the implementation of the novel digital evaluation technology.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that digital evaluation technology is useful for preclinical crown preparation training. Attention should also be paid to studying the optimal integration of digital dentistry into traditional dental curricula and its effects on students' learning curves.

Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice on early childhood caries among dental undergraduates and residents in China

BACKGROUND

Early childhood caries (ECC) causes severe, widespread oral health issues in children. Dental undergraduates and residents are expected to have a solid understanding of ECC for children's oral health promotion. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and clinical practice on ECC among dental undergraduates and residents in China.

METHODS

A 23-item electronic questionnaire was distributed to 598 dental undergraduates (4th- and 5th-year undergraduates) and residents (1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-year residents) at the School of Stomatology, Wuhan University, China (in April-May 2023). SPSS Statistics was used to analyze the data using the Chi-square test at a significance level of 0.05.

RESULTS

A total of 422 questionnaires were completed by participants (recovery rate: 70.6%) from various academic levels. Around 77.3% of participants had heard of ECC (mainly from textbooks), and only 27.5% considered themselves familiar with it. Residents (79.8%) had higher risk awareness of ECC on children's overall health than undergraduates (58.3%) (p < 0.05), but only 54.0% of participants correctly defined ECC. Most participants had a positive understanding of ECC's pathogenic factors and preventive measures, including feeding patterns (71.6%), fluoride application (93.4%), and teeth cleaning (93.1%). Furthermore, only 50.2% of participants encountered ECC cases in clinic.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite having a suboptimal level of ECC-related knowledge and practice, dental undergraduates and residents in China demonstrated a more positive attitude towards its etiology-based prevention. Strengthening ECC education, guidance, and practice may enable them to gain a better understanding of ECC learning, which would benefit children's oral health.

Construction and application of dental virtual reality simulation teaching system in China: Necessity and strategies

INTRODUCTION

Following worldwide progress in digital technology, the utilization of advanced technology to update the concept and mode of education has become an important way to improve the quality and scale of talent training. Adoption of virtual reality technology has a positive effect on dental education. Virtual reality technology has been introduced into Chinese dental education nearly 10 years ago, and a holistic teaching system that employs virtual simulation technology to assist instructors in teaching and students in learning has gradually been formed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Based on the work of the West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, we introduced the necessity and advantages of the application of virtual simulation technology in talent training in dentistry and the status of this teaching system.

RESULTS

A virtual dental simulation teaching system was constructed and applied in China. Virtual reality technology was incorporated into the four elements of the teaching system. This reformed system carried out educational informatization in terms of the construction of a virtual simulation teaching platform, development of virtual simulation teaching resources, improvement of the student training model, and upgrading of teaching management.

CONCLUSION

The holistic teaching system implemented at the West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, highlights the successful incorporation of virtual reality technology into various aspects of dental education. The construction of this system reflects the deep integration of modern information technology and dental education, with the aim of helping dental educators promote teaching methods and management model in the future.

WeChat app combined CBL in oral medicine clinical training: A review

Hotly used in student-centered medical education worldwide, case based learning (CBL) is worthen with WeChat, the most popular communication app and is widely used in all walks of life. We have practiced several years combining WeChat and CBL in the clinical training of oral medicine for young doctors, promoting outcomes over traditional bedside training. This article's objective is demonstrating the acceptability and merits of WeChat CBL in the clinical training of oral medicine for young doctor. A total of eighty young doctors and 2 tutors participated in this study for interns of a every 2-month training during January 2018 to 2020. The control group used clinical bedside mode; the experimental group used bedside plus WeChat CBL mode. The evaluations included participation passion, daily routine and final test. Ten clerkships and thirty residents were in same number respectively of experiment and control groups. The participants in the experimental group produced a higher degree of participation in discussions. The twice and above Q&A action percentage is 40% in experimental group rather than 25% in control group. Daily assessment and final examination scores in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < .001). WeChat CBL mode has a positive effect on students' learning enthusiasm, assessments and evaluations in clinical training of oral medicine.

Student perceptions toward virtual reality training in dental implant education

Objectives

Both the shortage of professional teaching resources and the expensive dental implant supplies impede the effective training of dental undergraduate in implantology. Virtual reality (VR) technology may provide solutions to solve these problems. This pilot study was implemented to explore the usability and acceptance of a VR application in the training of dental implant among dental students at the Jinan University School of Stomatology.

Methods

We designed and developed a VR system with head-mounted displays (HMDs) to assist dental implant training. Undergraduate dental students were invited to experience a 30-minute "Introduction to dental implants" VR-HMDs training module. A total of 119 dental students participated the training. Firstly, the VR interactive training on dental implant was described, illustrated and practiced. Next, a system usability scale (SUS) survey was used to verify the usability and feasibility of the VR application on training dental students. Finally, the participants were given a questionnaire to provide their perceptions and feedback of the usefulness of the VR application for training dental implant skills.

Results

The SUS score was 82.00 ± 10.79, indicating a top 10 percentage ranking of the system's usabilitys. The participants' answers to the questionnaire reflected most of them exhibited strong interests in the VR system, with a tendency that the female students were more confident than the male in manipulating the VR system. The participants generally acknowledged the usefulness of VR dental implants, ranking VR value above the traditional laboratory operations, and a preference for using the VR system on learning other skills. They also gave valuable suggestions on VR dental implants for substantial improvement. However, some students were not strongly positive about the VR training in this study, the reason might lie in a more theoretical module was selected for testing, which impacted the students' ratings.

Conclusions

In this study we revealed the feasibility and usability of VR applications on training dental implant among undergraduate dental students. This pilot study showed that the participants benefited from the dental implant VR training by practicing the skills repeatedly. The feedback from student participants affirmed the advantages and their acceptance of the VR application in dental education. Especially, the VR-based technology is highly conducive to clinical operating skills and surgical procedures-focused training in medical education, indicating that the VR system should be combined with the traditional practice approach in improving dental students' practical abilities.

A Scoping Review of Internationalization of Dental Education—Identifying Formats and Motivations in Dental Education

Background

Internationalization efforts, including global health activities, in dental education can play an important role in preparing future oral healthcare professionals. To date, in the available literature, there is no common understanding of what internationalization of dental education might mean, and there are no agreed upon standards relating to, or a common definition of the term internationalization of dental education. Here, the authors investigate what has been published in the above area from 01/01/2000 to 12/31/2020, identifying perceived motivations and formats. A proposed definition and connection to the field of international higher education is provided.

Methods

A scoping review of published literature was performed and identified 47 relevant articles. The articles were thematically sorted based on educational formats and concepts (previously established in international higher education) and motivations.

Results

Despite the paucity of articles directly addressing internationalization of dental education, there was a large variety of articles on topics that were identified to correlate with international higher education, ranging from international partnerships, student mobility, and language, to international curriculum at home—with different perceived motivations, including competition, international understanding, and social transformation.

Discussion

More research on internationalization of dental education is needed to provide guidelines and formalize standards for international educational goals to better align formats and motivations for international efforts in dental education.

The perceptions of anatomy teachers for different majors during the COVID-19 pandemic: a national Chinese survey

During the spring semester of 2020, medical school anatomists in China were forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to transition from face-to-face educators or part-time online educators to full-time online educators. This nationwide survey was conducted to assess online anatomy education during the pandemic for medical students from nonclinical medicine and clinical medicine majors at medical schools in China via WeChat. The total of 356 responders included 293 responders from clinical medicine and 63 respondents from nonclinical medicine majors (i.e., 21 from preventive medicine, 13 from stomatology, and 29 from traditional Chinese medicine). The survey results showed that several aspects of online anatomy education were quite similar in clinical and nonclinical majors' classes, including theoretical and practical sessions, active learning, assessments and evaluations. However, there were statistically significant differences in class size, implementation of active learning activities prior to the pandemic, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of online learning during the pandemic, between clinical and nonclinical medicine majors. These results indicated that, compared with teachers of anatomy courses in clinical medicine, teachers of nonclinical medicine majors using online learning in medical schools in China had relatively poor preparation for online learning in response to the unforeseen pandemic.

Orthodontic curriculum in Saudi Arabia: Faculty members' perception of clinical learning outcomes

OBJECTIVES:

This study aimed to assess the perception of orthodontic staff members around clinical learning outcomes (LOs) of the undergraduate orthodontic curriculum with a focus on dental schools in Saudi Arabia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Twenty-three LOs were formulated, all of which were associated with skills required in the undergraduate orthodontics course. Orthodontic staff members were invited to provide their opinion regarding the curriculum using a Likert scale, whereby participants could answer each question on a scale from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.”

RESULTS:

Sixty-one teaching staff members agreed to partake in this study. The highest level of agreement among the participants pertained to conducting systematic orthodontic intraoral and extraoral examinations (100%), followed by explaining causes for space loss (98.3%). The lowest level of agreement was regarding executing a treatment plan for non-skeletal cases (62.2%) followed by skills of fabrication and activation of removable appliances (77%). Around 67.1% of the academics refused to allow dental students to select and bond orthodontic brackets.

CONCLUSION:

It is time to amalgamate the objectives and create a unified national list of LOs for all orthodontic curriculums across the country without any distinction of knowledge or skills required at the undergraduate level.

Three-dimensional printed model of impacted third molar for surgical extraction training

OBJECTIVES

Extraction of impacted mandibular third molars is one of the most common surgical procedures performed at dental clinics; however effective training models for teaching oral surgery to dental students are limited. This study aimed to use three-dimension (3D) printing technology to develop an effective training model for impacted third molar extraction.

METHODS

The data for the 3D model were digitally processed using high-resolution computed tomography, and two common, but different patterns of impacted third molars were simulated using computer-aided design. Thereafter, the model was printed using the 3D-printing technology, and the efficiency of the 3D-printed model and an animal model (pig mandible) were compared using a five-point Likert scale by 35 oral surgeons in the oral surgery department and 208 students of stomatology in the internship stage.

RESULTS

The 3D-printed model consisted of three parts: a non-replaceable part (i.e., the body of the mandible and the teeth from the left first molar to the right first molar) and two replaceable parts (i.e., the part of the ascending ramus of the mandible, as well as the second and third molars). It was covered with a layer of rubber-like material to simulate the gingiva. For the comparison between the 3D-printed and animal models, a total of 205 questionnaires were collected. Both oral surgeons and students agreed that the 3D-printed model was better than the animal model in terms of total value and the anatomy of the bone and teeth, simulating the surgical procedure (p < 0.05), while the two models achieved similar results for haptic feedback of the soft tissue (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The 3D-printed model is realistic and effective for learning impacted third molar extraction and received positive feedback from students and oral surgeons. This model can significantly improve the pre-clinical skill training of dental students.

The national dental undergraduate clinical skills competition known as the Guanghua Cup: an innovative and effective program that promoted undergraduate dental education in China

BACKGROUND

The National Dental Undergraduate Clinical Skills Competition known as the Guanghua Cup was held in Guangzhou, China, for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019 to promote the clinical teaching of undergraduate dental education and to enhance communication among different universities. The present study aimed to introduce the organization, procedures, and consequences of the competition, in addition to analyzing the influences of competition on the reform of undergraduate dental education.

METHODS

By analyzing the descriptive statistics of the Guanghua Cup, the competitions' organization, the participating students' performances, and the outcomes of competitions were analyzed. After distributing questionnaires to all participants of the 2nd and 3rd Cups, their attitudes towards the competition and their evaluation of the role of the competitions in promoting undergraduate dental education were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 24 schools participated in the 3 competition years. The contents of the competitions covered cariology, endodontics, periodontology, prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, dental anatomy, and first aid (e.g., operative skills and theoretical knowledge). Compared with those of the 2nd Cup, the mean scores of the operative skills significantly improved in the stations related to periodontology, prosthodontics, and dental anatomy (p < 0.05) in the 3rd Cup. In addition, 338 valid questionnaires were collected, for a response rate of 87.79 %. Overall, the participants spoke highly of the Guanghua Cup. Based on their self-perception and self-evaluation, the majority of interviewees agreed that the competition helped develop collegiality and teamwork among the participating students, improved the students' clinical skills and promoted the improvement of teaching resources (e.g., purchasing and updating equipment, models or experimental materials).

CONCLUSIONS

The competition enjoyed the widest coverage since it involved dental schools from all of the different geographical regions of China. Dental students could exhibit their clinical skills in a competitive environment and develop collegiality and teamwork. Future competitions should be optimized through their organization and contents. The education quality of the participating schools affected by such competition should be investigated in a more objective and comparable way.

Eleven-year experience implementing a dental undergraduate research programme in a prestigious dental school in China: Lessons learned and future prospects

OBJECTIVE

To summarise the lessons learned from implementing a dental undergraduate research programme over the past eleven years and identify key elements to guarantee the success of dental undergraduate research in the future.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

An overview of 80 research projects from 2007 to 2017 was provided, consisting of 239 participating undergraduates and 47 faculty advisors. Students' academic performance was compared between participating and non-participating undergraduates. An anonymous questionnaire was designed and distributed to participants, with VAS satisfaction assessment, Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. Questions focused on overall satisfaction, motivation, benefits to student career development and essential elements for the dental undergraduate research programme in the future.

RESULTS

The undergraduate participants had significantly better scores of GPAs (3.41 vs 3.21; P < 0.0001), obtained more awards on the honour rolls (0.53 vs 0.30; P = 0.0171) and published more peer-reviewed articles (1.62 vs 1.31; P = 0.0253) than non-participants. Seventy-two undergraduates (75.79%) and thirty-eight advisors (80.85%) responded to the questionnaire. The overall satisfaction was scored as 78.18/100 and 72.36/100 amongst advisors and students, respectively. Interest was considered the best motivation for participation by students (3.81/5.00) and advisors (4.00/5.00). The research programme was beneficial to students' overall career development. Essential roles played by the dental school, faculty and undergraduates were suggested to improve the research environment.

CONCLUSION

The dental undergraduate research programme has positive effects on students' academic performance. The support of the dental school, the engagement of qualified faculty, the interest and autonomy of students and camaraderie amongst these three key elements are essential for the research programme in the future.

Curriculum setting and students' feedback of pre-clinical training in different dental schools in China-A national-wide survey

INTRODUCTION

Adequate time and effective training facilities are essential for undergraduate dental students participating in pre-clinical dental practice to ensure them providing safe treatment for patients in the future. The study aimed to explore the current status of pre-clinical dental training in China in relation to the curriculum setting and students' feedback of pre-clinical training in different dental schools and thus provide information for further standardise curricula.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

An online questionnaire was distributed electronically to undergraduates in 44 Chinese dental schools of different levels according to China Discipline Ranking (CDR). The questionnaire collected information in relation to the training hour and student to facility ratio of four main dental courses (cariology and endodontics, periodontology, prosthodontics and oral surgery), as well as the application and effect of virtual reality (VR) simulator in pre-clinical dental practice in different schools. Students' feedback was also collected.

RESULTS

A total of 565 valid questionnaires were recruited. Results of this cross-sectional survey show that training hour of periodontology course was the lowest, and oral surgery course showed most prominent shortage of facilities. The application of VR simulator amongst schools is uneven. Students from A and A+ level schools showed higher satisfaction with their pre-clinical courses and reported a more positive attitude towards the use of VR simulator than other students. (p < .05).

CONCLUSION

Pre-clinical dental training in China remained imperfect in insufficient training time, training facility and students did not have access to standard pre-clinical training and quality assurance. VR technique has potential values in pre-clinical dental practice in China.

A strife of interests: A qualitative study on the challenges facing oral health workforce policy and planning

Oral health workforce policy has often lacked systematic connections with broader health policy, and system-based reforms that would enable more effective responses to future needs of the population. The aim of the study was to better understand challenges facing oral health workforce policy and planning and identify potential solutions. In-depth interviews of 23 senior oral health leaders and/or health policy experts from 15 countries were conducted in 2016-17. Grounded theory principles using the Straussian school of thought guided the qualitative analysis. The findings identified: (i) narrow approach towards dental education, (ii) imbalances in skills, jobs and competencies, and (iii) geographic maldistribution as major challenges. An overarching theme -"strife of interests" - shed light on the tension between the profession's interest, and the needs of the population. A key aspect was the clash for power, dominance and authority within the oral health workforce and across health professions. This study argues that appreciating the history of health professions and recognising the centrality of the strife of interests is necessary in developing policies that both address professional sensitivities and are in line with the needs of the population. Integration and closer collaboration of oral health professionals with the mainstream medical and health professions has emerged as the key issue, but the solutions will be diverse and dependent on country- or context-specific scenarios.