Indigenous and other minority populations worldwide experience higher rates of disease including poor oral health than other populations. Cultural competence of practitioners is increasingly being recognized as fundamental to health care and quality of life in addressing these disparities. The aims of this study were to conduct a systematic review of the literature about teaching cultural competence in dental education and to explore the particular relevance of that teaching for the oral health care of Indigenous populations in Australia. A systematic review employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was conducted of published studies that explored cultural competency interventions in dental curricula. A total of 258 studies from 2004 to 2015 were identified; after removing duplications and applying criteria for exclusion, 12 were selected for analysis, involving 1,360 participants. The principal themes identified in the qualitative analysis of these studies were curriculum content, curriculum delivery, community service-learning, reflective writing, and evaluation. Students need knowledge of health disparities and community health to better understand the perspectives of culturally diverse populations and to communicate effectively with people from various cultures. The principal strategies that improved cultural competence in the articles examined in this study were educational seminars, community service-learning, and reflective writing. These findings suggest that integration of cultural competency curricula using a combination of didactic or online training, community engagement, and reflective writing may increase the cultural knowledge and skills of dental students.

Introduction: Indigenous Australians continue to experience significant oral health disparities, despite numerous closing-the-gap initiatives. Higher education institutions and accrediting bodies recognise the need to incorporate Indigenous culture more widely into dentistry curricula to address these inequalities. This study aimed to define and explore current Indigenous cultural competence curricula, identify enablers and barriers for integration of Indigenous cultural competence curricula and ascertain innovative strategies to aid students in becoming culturally competent upon graduation, from academics' perspectives.

No abstract

Although some Indigenous content exists in dental faculty curriculum, in-depth investigation is required to develop a comprehensive, evidenced-based Indigenous cultural competence teaching framework, for integration into Doctor of Dental Medicine and Bachelor of Oral Health curricula.

Indigenous Australians experience poorer oral health than non-Indigenous Australians despite closing-the-gap initiatives. Cultural competence is an important skill in the delivery of oral health care. The need for academic institutions to incorporate Indigenous culture more widely into their curricula to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous peoples and to increase cultural competence for all students has been recognized. The aims of this study were to identify students' perceptions of Indigenous content in current dental and oral health curricula; perceived barriers and supports for developing students' Indigenous cultural competence; and recommended strategies to inform future education in Indigenous culture. Students in the Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) and Bachelor of Oral Health (BOH) programs at the University of Sydney participated in semi-structured interviews to explore barriers and supports to students' becoming more competent in Indigenous culture. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize the students' responses. Fifteen students participated in interviews. In analysis of the data, ive key themes emerged: deining Indigenous cultural competence; current Indigenous cultural content; barriers to incorporating Indigenous education; future Indigenous curricular content and strategies; and diversity within student cohorts. These indings suggest that increasing Indigenous cultural competence among dental and oral health students requires an informed history of Indigenous Australians, engagement with Indigenous communities, and relection on these experiences. Additionally, recruitment of Indigenous staf and students in the school will facilitate culturally appropriate ways to redress Indigenous health disparities and increase the overall health of Indigenous peoples.