Background Social conditions have a significant impact on the health of individuals and populations. While the dental curriculum is focused on teaching students about the diseases that affect the dentition and oral structures from a biomedical perspective, education about the social determinants of health is frequently regarded as less important. Thus, it occupies a smaller and disconnected part of the dental curriculum. The aim of this study was to explore the ways dental students conceptualised the social determinants of health after one year in dental school. Methods Reflective statements written by first year dental students at the end of the first year of study were collected. This qualitative study has an interpretivist basis and a thematic analysis of the reflections was conducted by two researchers. Metzl’s structural competencies were used as a further analytic device. Results Four inter-related themes were identified: First, professional attitudes taken up by students influence their conceptions. Second, structural barriers to students understanding social determinants of health generate partial understandings. Thirdly, the social gulf that exists between the student body and people of different circumstances provides context to understanding the student’s perspectives. Finally, we described how students were learning about the social determinants of health over the academic year. Conclusions Dental students face several challenges when learning about the social determinants of health, and translating these learnings into actions is perhaps even more challenging. Metzl’s structural competencies provide a framework for advancing students’ understandings. One of the most important findings of this research study is that coming to an understanding of the social determinants of health requires sustained attention to social theories, practical experiences as well as institutionalised attitudes that could be achieved through an intentional curriculum design.

Learning basic science forms an essential foundation for oral health therapy and dentistry, but frequently students perceive it as difficult, dry, and disconnected from clinical practice. This perception is encouraged by assessment methods that reward fact memorization, such as objective examinations. This study evaluated use of a learner-centered assessment portfolio designed to increase student engagement with basic science in an oral health therapy program at the University of Sydney, Australia. The aim of this qualitative study based on focus groups was to investigate students' engagement with basic science courses following introduction of the portfolio. Three assessments were conducted in three subsequent semesters: one based on students' interest in everyday phenomena (one student, for example, explored why she had red hair); the second focussed on scientific evidence and understanding of systemic diseases; and the third explored relations between oral and general health. Students were encouraged to begin with issues from their personal experience or patient care, to focus on what they were curious about, and to ask questions they really cared about. Each student prepared a written report and gave an oral presentation to the entire cohort. After the portfolios were completed, the authors held focus groups with two cohorts of students (N=21) in 2016 and analyzed the results using Zepke's framework for student engagement research. The results showed that the students successfully interweaved personal experience into their studies and that it provided significant motivation for learning. The students described their learning in terms of connection to themselves, their peer community, and their profession. Many additional benefits were identified, from increased student engagement in all courses to appreciation of the relevance of basic science. The findings should encourage dental and allied dental educators to reconsider the effects of assessments and seek integrative methods to help students engage in meaningful knowledge production and understand that what they are learning goes beyond acquisition of scientific facts.

Contemporary dental practice requires practitioners who are able to draw upon varying interconnected knowledge and skills, in order to make judgments and take action when faced with multiple, often contradictory, ways of interpreting a situation. However, the curricula that prepare students for dental practice are traditionally based on the theoretical knowledge and technical skills to be gained by students. This is despite evidence in the dental literature of a collective desire for graduates to have more range and depth in their repertoire. Examination of contemporary dental practice through the lens of supercomplexity (Higher Education, 40, 409 and 2000) provides contextual understanding and a platform to explore the types of learning and curriculum approaches that can best prepare students for professional practice. From the insights offered by examples from other professional fields, we, as dental educators, can begin to conceptualise learning dentistry as much more than competency frameworks or descriptions of what students need to know and be able to do. Rather, to equip graduates for contemporary dental practice, the dental curriculum needs to become a vehicle for students to develop personally and professionally as well as teaching the theoretical and technical aspects of dentistry.

Introduction The social determinants of health that influence how wellness and illness are experienced within society must be a core component of dental curricula where aspiring dental professionals are taught about the aetiology and social history of dental diseases. Through this scoping review, we examine the current approaches that have been employed to incorporate the social determinants of health within dental curricula. Methods Using a scoping review methodology, we searched the databases Scopus, PubMed, and Embase using keywords relevant to the social determinants of health and dental education. Results Following screening and sorting, 36 articles were included within this review. The majority of the articles described research that evaluated outcomes of educational interventions with relevance to the social determinants of health. The remainder of the included studies discussed attitudes and readiness relative to the social determinants of health and how this core competency could be taught effectively. Conclusion The included literature revealed that the social determinants of health frequently are not the focus of educational activities in dental curricula, with students frequently having little active guidance on how they might make sense of their educational experiences in this domain. The socioeconomic, cultural, political, geographic, and structural barriers that contribute to patients being impacted by the social determinants of health should be explicitly addressed and discussed with students as a foundation element of the dental curriculum.

The desires and challenges facing new graduate dentists in their transition into the workforce have been the subject of several research studies. 1-3 A common goal is to be successful, such as to achieve favourable outcomes and have a sense of accomplishment. This research study aims to explore what being successful as a new dentist means. Three bodies of literature can be drawn upon when thinking about what it means to be a successful dentist-literature about financial and business success, job satisfaction and professional identity formation. Levin implores dentists, particularly new graduates to have a greater knowledge of the business of dentistry and implies that ignoring this aspect will lead to failure. 4 Others suggest that success stems from patient experience, equating a more positive experience with more referrals and more patients. 5 Neither of these examples explores the concept of success beyond business goals. Another body of work to consider explores dentists' job satisfaction. These studies predominately use surveys and satisfaction