Educational researchers have argued for the addition of new technologies to enhance or replace traditional dental education modalities to more effectively engage and appeal to the new generation of dental students. Two-and three-dimensional interactive media technology is now available for implementation into curricula to teach to a next-generation paradigm. The purpose of this study was to analyze the introduction of a unique, online, totally independent learning module for dental morphology instruction, completely replacing the traditional classroom teaching of the topic, and to determine the relationship between its use and parameters depicting success in learning dental morphology. In particular, the authors hypothesized that the novice, preclinical dental student can learn dental morphology independently and eficiently this way. One-third of a 2010-11 irst-year class of dental students were given an independent, interactive media module for the instruction of dental morphology. The remaining members of the class experienced the traditional course with classroom lectures. At the end of the module, a written examination and survey were given to both groups. The major indings were that the independent, interactive media module was just as effective as the traditional classroom method for successful dissemination of foundational knowledge in dental morphology; the independent study group performed signiicantly better on the didactic examination; the online module positively engaged the students; and students preferred the interactive media module but did not regard it as a total replacement for the traditional course.Dr. Maggio is Assistant Professor and Academic Clinician,

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Dental schools need to produce graduates who are adequately prepared to respond to the complex needs and challenges of the increasingly diverse and interconnected world in which they will practice dentistry. To enhance discussions about the coverage of global oral health competencies in dental education, the aims of this study were to assess how global health education is currently incorporated into predoctoral dental training in the U.S. and which global oral health competencies are being covered. Surveys were emailed to all 64 accredited U.S. dental schools during the 2015-16 academic year. Respondents from 52 schools completed the survey (response rate 81%). The results showed that social determinants of oral diseases and conditions, how to identify barriers to use of oral health services, and how to work with patients who have limited dental health literacy were covered in the greatest number of responding schools' curricula. Key areas of global health curricula that were covered rarely included global dental infrastructure, data collection design, and horizontal and vertical programming approaches to health improvement. Despite current dialogue on the addition of global oral health competencies to dental curricula, only 41% of the responding schools were currently planning to expand their global oral health education. Based on these results, the authors conclude that it may be most feasible for dental schools to add recommended global oral health competencies to their curricula by incorporating didactic content into already established courses.Dr. Sung is a graduate

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Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects approximately 14.8 million adults in the United States, which is about 6.7 % of the US population. MDD impacts most activities of daily living, including oral hygiene practices and use of dental resources. This review article provides information related to underlying mechanisms of disease, diagnosis, and treatment so that dentists may best address patients' dental concerns in the context of underlying depression. Laboratory and psychological screening tools are also discussed in relation to specific practice recommendations for managing patients with MDD as well as identifying patients with underlying symptoms who may be at risk for MDD.