COVID-19 and a Call to Adapt Dental Education

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 has harmed the economic, academic, and clinical pursuits of dental educational institutions and dental students. As dental associations, health agencies, and regulatory bodies around the globe announced the need for social distancing and stricter safety measures, some dental schools worldwide have been adapting to accommodate for such changes.Methods: This review attempts to provide a general picture of the early responses of some dental schools worldwide to the COVID-19 crisis and identify some of the regulations that influenced dental schools' initial decisions. An analytical approach was used to assess changes to dental school curriculums in didactic (academic/non-clinical) and clinical education, examinations, administration, and dental school research. The assessment was based on a web-based search of a variety of online global references including research articles, reviews, letters, press releases, and surveys regarding the early effect of covid-19 on dental education at some dental institutions in the U.S, Europe, and Asia from late February to early July of 2020. The review also offered further recommendations to dental school administrators regarding the future of dental education during the early stages of a pandemic.Conclusions: Innovations in technology and blended educational methodologies will continue to influence how certain dental schools around the world adapt to the changes caused by COVID-19 and better prepare dental education institutions for potential future public health disruptions.Clinical significance: Dental schools will need to adapt their education system to improve didactic, preclinical, clinical, administrative, and research components of dental education in response to the changes caused by COVID-19 and future pandemics.

Experience of Bangladeshi Dental Students towards Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Study

“…Thus, we recommend the optimization of online learning techniques for efficiently delivering high-quality dental education. For instance, governments, healthcare authorities, and dental schools need to adapt their education systems to improve the one-to-one, didactic, preclinical, clinical, administrative, and research components of dental education and implement effective online-learning education systems in response to the changes caused by COVID-19 [26]. Dental institutions should provide students with internet wi-fi devices and affordable purchasing options for portable devices (e.g., laptops, notebooks, and tablets).…”

“…In a survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Jordan, and Libya, most medical students negatively perceived or expressed dissatisfaction with online learning [25]. The pandemic has severely affected the self-confidence and performance levels of students studying dental courses globally [26]. In addition to medical students, dental students are considered among the group of students who are most exposed to various communicable diseases, including COVID-19.…”

A COVID-19 University-Based Dental Clinic Experience and Infection Control Protocol Modification for Safe Clinical Education

“…When the dental clinic reopened, most of these cases needed reassessment, and some treatments had to be re-done. 12,23 Reopening the dental clinics at UQUDENT required the expansion of infection control policies and procedures based on local authority guidelines. 16 However, the guidelines also required modifications to allow proper implementation that considered the financial and environmental constraints.…”

Modelos híbridos de enseñanza y aprendizaje

“…Esta internacionalización sufrió un duro impacto por la pandemia, que provocó graves perjuicios a la movilidad universitaria (CEPAL/UNESCO, 2020). Muchas acciones tuvieron que paralizarse, innumerables estudiantes de grado y de posgrado regresaron a sus países, ya fuera por dificultades para mantenerse en el campus de destino en el momento de la pandemia, por el cierre de muchos campus o por la política gubernamental adoptada (CEPAL/UNESCO, 2020;Alrashdi et al, 2021).En el contexto mundial, la movilidad de los estudiantes sufrió un impacto frontal por la migración de los procesos hacia el espacio virtual. Los cursos de muchos alumnos en otros países quedaron afectados, impidiendo su cambio o alterando los programas de estudios a distancia.…”

“…Muchos campus cerraron y en ocasiones se prohibió el ingreso a los estudiantes extranjeros.En este sentido, como se ha indicado, los estudiantes a menudo tuvieron que regresar a sus países de origen, asumiendo que su formación se realizaría en remoto, sin poder desarrollar sus objetivos planeados. Proyectos de investigación que se servían de laboratorios y equipos específicos fueron postergados o tuvieron que cambiarse por proyectos que no implicasen prácticas de laboratorio(Alrashdi et al, 2021; UNESCO/IESALC, 2021).Los cursos de posgrado repensaron sus ofertas, suspendiéndolas en algunos casos y flexibilizándolas para actividades remotas. Sin embargo, no todos los estudiantes tuvieron garantías de que sus cursos proseguirían, puesto que muchos no tenían acceso a la calidad mínima para dar continuidad a su formación.…”