Developing an undergraduate curriculum in Special Care Dentistry – by consensus

Abstract

It has been reported that healthcare providers often lack the skills set to provide care for people with disabilities, leading to inequalities in health and reduced access to health care. Newly graduating dentists are likely to see a significant number of patients with special healthcare needs in the course of their practicing lives. However, there is evidence of national and international variation in the availability of education and training at the undergraduate level in this important, emerging area. The quality and content of undergraduate education in Special Care Dentistry has been shown to correlate with students' confidence and their expressed willingness, towards providing care for patients with special healthcare needs in their future practice. The aim of this study was to use information from a three-round Delphi process, continued into a face-to-face meeting, to establish consensus on what constitutes the essential core knowledge, skills and attitudes required by a newly qualified dentist so that they are able to deliver patient care to diverse populations following graduation. A high level of agreement was established amongst an international panel of experts from 30 countries. The final core items identified by the panel showed a paradigm shift away from the traditional emphasis on medical diagnosis within a curriculum towards an approach based on the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) with patient-centred treatment planning for people with disabilities and special healthcare needs according to function or environment. Many of the core skills identified by the panel are transferable across a curriculum and should encourage a person-centred approach to treatment planning based on the function, needs and wishes of the patient rather than their specific diagnosis.

Dental Students’ Knowledge of Oral Health for Persons with Special Needs: A Pilot Study

“…A study reported effectiveness of oral health education of caregivers on special needs patients in form of a lecture, hands-on training, and a facilitated group discussion of those education methods [ 35 , 36 ]. There is indication of national and international dissimilarity in the training and education at the undergraduate level which reflects in the content and quality of their education in SHCN [ 37 ]. This has been shown to correlate with the students' enthusiasm towards Dougall providing care for patients with SHCN in their future practice and their confidence SHCN [ 37 ].…”

“…There is indication of national and international dissimilarity in the training and education at the undergraduate level which reflects in the content and quality of their education in SHCN [ 37 ]. This has been shown to correlate with the students' enthusiasm towards Dougall providing care for patients with SHCN in their future practice and their confidence SHCN [ 37 ]. Developing curriculum in Special Care Dentistry for dental students has been reported SHCN [ 37 ].…”

What Should Dental Services for People with Disabilities Be Like? Results of an Irish Delphi Panel Survey

“…An approach to address the potential lack of group interaction is to incorporate formal feedback within the e-Delphi Process [27]. The authors were also conscious to avoid undue coercion for participants to cede to group pressure.…”

Development of a battery of tests to measure attitudes and intended behaviours of dental students towards people with disability or those in marginalised groups

“…Dental care is particularly important within this context as it is a service that is universally required and organised around a local primary dental care provider, who is responsible for the majority of care. It is essential that this local practitioner be confident and competent for the management of patients with disability and from mar- Dental Education, [13][14][15] and the learning outcomes were mapped to the ADEE "Profile and competencies for the graduating European dentist" document. 16 Feedback from this process suggested that educators are confident when teaching and assessing knowledge, but that it is difficult to evaluate whether their teaching has an impact on attitudes or behaviour.…”