Integrating a Primary Oral Health Care Approach in the Dental Curriculum: A Tanzanian Experience

Abstract

This paper is based on a conference presentation made during the inauguration of the Faculty of Dentistry, Kuwait University, as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Primary Oral Health Care (POHC) on November 27-28, 2012. The aim of this paper is to review how the POHC approach has been integrated into the dental curriculum, sharing the Tanzanian experience as a case presentation from a developing country. The burden of oral diseases worldwide is high, and the current oral health workforce is inadequate to meet the challenges. Curative oral health care is very costly and not accessible to the poor and minorities. To tackle the problem, the POHC approach rooted in primary health care that emphasizes equity, community involvement, prevention, appropriate technology and a multi-sectorial approach was developed and has been operating for more than 3 decades now. Execution of a comprehensive POHC requires a trained oral health workforce mix with essential competencies. For this case study, a literature search was done using the search engines subscribed to by the library of Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, including PubMed, Cochrane, ScienceDirect and Scopus, Wiley-Blackwell Interscience, Sage and the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI) that gives access to Scirus and Google Scholar. Challenges are discussed with an emphasis more on addressing the common risk factors and determinants of oral health. Integration of the POHC approach in the dental curriculum for training a competent workforce is crucial in attaining better oral health. Resources are still a major challenge, and the impact of the POHC approach in the curriculum is yet to be evaluated.

Challenges impeding integration of oral health into primary health care

“…Similar to our findings, a lack of provider capacity, training and experience for operating in the context of cross-disciplinary or integrated settings is another challenge considered in the literature (22,23). It is also suggested that integration of the PHC approach into the dental curriculum is crucial for training a competent workforce (29). Given this situation, there is a need to provide the current and future PHC and dental workforce with the skills needed to practice integrated oral health services (23,30).…”

Primary oral health care and smiles for life curriculum adaptation for nurses training in low income countries: A case of Tanzanian context

“…It should not only equip the graduates with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour but also should accommodate the culture and social principles acceptable to the community they serve for achieving the best outcome. [28] Nurses and midwives provide health services in all levels of health facilities. Nurses can play a pivotal role in expanding access to overall health care for the population.…”

“…For example, as new diseases continue to emerge, the development of new technology, treatment equipment requires continuing education and professional development. [28] While we are implementing this curriculum for training nursing in Tanzania, there is a great step made towards bridging the oral health disparities in low income countries by infusing this oral curriculum into existing curricula of the training institution. [29] Similarly, oral health training for nurses in Tanzania will be strategically implemented and infused into the existing curricula in order to promote effectiveness and sustainability.…”

Educating medical students in oral health care: current curriculum and future needs of institutions in Malaysia and Australia

“…Initiatives introduced in other parts of the world such as the United States, Canada and Poland, in preparing their medical graduates with roles in oral health maintenance, have seen a dynamic shift in the conduct and delivery of medical education towards a learning environment that promotes holistic patient care (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25). The evolving trend in medical education seeks institutional commitment to accommodate curricular changes to comply with the global quality and standard of teaching and learning as well as the future practice of medicine (26)(27)(28)(29).…”