A core curriculum in the biological and biomedical sciences for dentistry

Exploring dental and oral hygiene students' interprofessional readiness: a cross-sectional study in joint paediatric outreach training

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional education is vital in oral healthcare education and should be integrated into both theoretical and work-based education. Little research addresses interprofessional education in dental hands-on training in authentic oral healthcare settings. The aim of the study was to examine the readiness and attitudes of dental and oral hygiene students towards interprofessional education during joint paediatric outreach training.

METHODS

In the spring of 2022, a cross-sectional study was done involving dental and oral hygiene students using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) during joint paediatric outreach training. The 19-item tool was answered on a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree). Means, standard deviations, minimums, maximums, and medians were calculated for each subscale and overall score. Students grouped according to their categorical variables were compared for statistically significant differences. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used for groups of two and the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis for groups of three or more. The internal consistency of the scale was measured with Cronbach's alpha. Statistical level was set at 0.05.

RESULTS

The survey included 111 participants, consisting of 51 oral hygiene students and 60 dental students, with a response rate of 93%. The questionnaire yielded a high overall mean score of 4.2. Both oral hygiene (4.3) and dental students (4.2) displayed strong readiness for interprofessional education measured by the RIPLS. The subscale of teamwork and collaboration achieved the highest score of 4.5. Students lacking prior healthcare education or work experience obtained higher RIPLS scores. Oral hygiene students rated overall items (p = 0.019) and the subscales of positive professional identity (p = < 0.001) and roles and responsibilities (p = 0.038) higher than dental students. The Cronbach's alpha represented high internal consistency for overall RIPLS scores on the scale (0.812).

CONCLUSIONS

Both oral hygiene and dental students perceived shared learning as beneficial and showcased high readiness for interprofessional education, as evident in their RIPLS scores. Integrating interprofessional learning into oral hygiene and dental curricula is important. Studying together can form a good basis for future working life collaboration.

Bridging the gap between omics research and dental practice

AIM

The burgeoning field of omics research has witnessed exponential growth in both medicine and dentistry. However, despite more than a decade of advancements, clinical dentistry, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), has seen limited progress in integrating omics-based approaches into routine practice. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the integration of omics approaches in dentistry, focusing on the challenges and opportunities for translating research findings into clinical practice.

METHODS

we conducted a literature review using key databases to provide a brief overview of the history of genomics in dentistry. Additionally, we summarised recent breakthroughs in omics relevant to oral health practitioners, emphasising the inadequate translation of omics research into clinical practice.

RESULTS

Despite significant growth in omics research in both medicine and dentistry, its translation into routine clinical practice in dentistry remains limited. We summarise recent breakthroughs in omics and highlight the gap between research advancements and clinical implementation.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The integration of omics approaches holds promise for enhancing diagnostics, personalised treatment strategies, and preventive measures in dental practice, ushering in a new era of precision oral healthcare. However, several challenges, including infrastructure limitations, cost-effectiveness, and education gaps, hinder the widespread adoption of omics-based approaches in clinical dentistry. A strong commitment to transforming dentistry is required to embrace this transition. This shift has the potential to revolutionise oral healthcare by advancing precision diagnostics and treatment strategies tailored to individual patient needs.

O-Health-Edu: A vision for oral health professional education in Europe

This consensus paper reports on the process of developing a renewed vision for Oral Health Professional (OHP) education across Europe, and forms part of a larger EU-funded collaborative Erasmus+ project, "O-Health-Edu." The vision aligns with the World Health Organisation milestones (2016) and resolutions (2021), and EU4Health programme (2020) objectives - and projects 20 years into the future, to 2040. This longitudinal vision takes a multi-stakeholder perspective to deliver OHP education that acts in the best interests of both students and patients, and sits within the context of a wider strategy for general health. Included, it is an infographic to help communicate the vision to various stakeholders of OHP education.

Teaching Cariology in Asia and Arabia

The European Organisation for Caries Research education platform 2020 had the aim to assess the undergraduate curriculum in cariology in Asian and Arabian countries in order to support structured teaching of cariology in these countries with about almost half of the global population. Representatives of 4 Asian and 4 Arabian countries completed a comprehensive questionnaire on structure of dental education in their country in general and the extent, the content, the responsibilities, structure and standardization regarding cariology in particular. In spite of a wide range from very few universities (Lebanon 3) to larger numbers of dental schools (India 313, China 121, Russia 52) there were similar statements on the list of content for cariology teaching. Often the catalogue was close to the Undergraduate Core Curriculum in Cariology (UCCC) covering most of the 5 domains from basic science to dental public health, but a national curriculum for cariology or dentistry was mostly missing. With various departments being involved, a need of coordination is obvious. Most representatives thought it possible and feasible to teach a standardized curriculum in cariology on the basis of the UCCC. In conclusion, many Arabian and Asian countries have implemented modern, evidence-based curricula in their universities, but an obligatory national curriculum in cariology would be advisable to standardize the quality in teaching.

Future horizons: embedding the evolving science of regenerative dentistry in a modern, sustainable dental curriculum

Regenerative dentistry is an emerging field promising to revolutionise the way we approach and perform clinical therapies. This multidisciplinary field, integrating cellular biology, material science and tissue engineering, aims to restore and maintain biological vitality unlike conventional dental therapies, providing a new approach in achieving sustainability within dentistry. Although this emerging field in dentistry seems futuristic and a distant reality, it is closer than we perceive it, as rapid scientific advances contribute to novel technologies. In this opinion piece we share our views on the emerging field and the need of embedding the scientific knowledge and sustainability within the dental curriculum. We critically discuss challenges and quests ahead of our dental profession facing the future.

Body Donation, Teaching, and Research in Dissection Rooms in Spain in Times of Covid-19

The state of alarm due to Covid-19 pandemic in Spain stopped all educational and most university research activities. The Spanish Anatomical Society (SAE) Consensus Expert Group on Body Donations piloted a study based on a questionnaire to know the status of body donations and dissection activities during the lockdown, as well as the future implications of Covid-19 pandemic for body donation programs and anatomy teaching. The questionnaire results show that Spanish Universities refused body donations and stopped all dissection research and teaching. The Covid-19 expected influence on anatomy teaching was referred to the increase in teaching workforce and resources required to apply the new safety measures to future practical activities, as well as to prepare and adapt teaching material for online-only programs. The application of reinforced safety measures was expected to be perceived by the respondent's students as a gain in teaching quality, while the transformation of the anatomy courses in online-only programs will be perceived as a quality decrease. The respondent's concerns about future institutional implications of the pandemic were related to increased costs of the adaptation of the facilities and the reinforced preventive measures, as well as the eventual decrease in donations. The complete lockdown applied to dissection rooms was not justified by scientific evidence and represented a break of the confidence deposed in the institutions by the donors. A consensus is required for the adoption of a renewed, comprehensive protocol for present and future body donations including the evidence Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to create.

Biomedical Courses Should Also Be Designed for Dental Students: The Perceptions of Dental Students

INTRODUCTION

It can be challenging integrating biomedical sciences into dentistry programs. The aim was to examine students' perceptions of how joint biomedical courses with medical students and courses tailored for dental students supported their clinical studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The target group was clinical phase dental students. Cross-sectional survey data were collected using a questionnaire, which consisted of questions covering biomedical and clinical study content and learning methods.

RESULTS

A total of 110 (82%) students completed the survey. Students had difficulty recognising the relevance of joint biomedical courses for clinical work, but when the link was clear, their interest in the content increased. The closer the respondents were to graduation, the less relevance they expressed the biomedical sciences had. Almost all students (95%) wanted more dental content for the early study years.

DISCUSSION

The student perspective provides valuable information for the development of biomedical courses. Students should be offered customised courses that include dental content and perspectives on clinical work, whenever suitable to the didactic content of the basic science course. Our study shows that the dental perspective needs greater integration with the biomedical content. This also supports interprofessional learning and appreciation for the other field's contribution to human health.

Adaptive e-learning platforms can improve student performance and engagement in dental education

PURPOSE

Knowledge of normal tissue architecture is essential for one of the vitally important graduate competencies in dentistry, which is the recognition and appropriate referral of patients with oral mucosal and jawbone abnormalities for timely management and improved outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of online adaptive lessons on improving perceived and measured student performance, motivation, and student perceptions in dental education.

METHODS

This mixed-method study was conducted on year 1 and year 3 undergraduate dental students. Adaptive lessons supplementing a number of histology topics were designed and made available. Adaptive lesson scores and analytics, exam scores on topics that were supplemented by adaptive lessons (Experimental Questions), and those that were not (Control Questions) were compared among the year 1 students (n = 43). A validated questionnaire including Likert-type scales about the student attitudes and perceptions toward adaptive lessons followed by open-ended questions was administered to year 1 and 3 students (n = 57).

RESULTS

Students obtained significantly higher scores in experimental exam questions than control exam questions (p = 0.01). A significantly larger number of students perceived that the adaptive lessons improved their knowledge of the subject (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The adaptive lessons employed in this study showed significant potential to improve student engagement, motivation, perceived knowledge, and measured exam performance. These are particularly important findings especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic as institutions transitioned to online education in lieu of face-to-face classes to comply with recommendations from Health Authorities.