Oral Health Research and Scholarship in 2040: Executive Summary

Abstract

This executive summary for Section 6 of the "Advancing Dental Education in the 21 Century" project provides an overview of five background articles that address the role of research and scholarship in dental education in the year 2040. Beginning with a historical account of research and discovery science in dentistry's evolution as a profession, the article then reviews the role of early thought leaders and organized dentistry in establishing research as a cornerstone of dental education and dental practice. The dental research workforce faces an uncertain future fueled by a volatile funding environment and inadequate mentoring and training of research faculty. Dental schools must forge stronger academic and scientific ties to their university and academic health centers and will be challenged to develop sustainable research and patient care collaborations with other health professions. The changing health care environment will create new opportunities for oral health care providers to expand their scope of practice and focus on prevention and screening for non-communicable chronic diseases. Dental practitioners in the future are likely to place greater emphasis on managing the overall health of their patients while promoting closer integration with other health professionals. All dental schools must develop a sustainable research mission if they hope to graduate dentists who function effectively in a collaborative health care environment. The changing scientific and health care landscape will dramatically alter dental education and dental practice. Dental schools need to reconsider their research and educational priorities and clinical practice objectives. Until dental schools and the practicing community come to grips with these challenges, a persistent attitude of complacency will likely be at the dental profession's peril.

Moving from advocacy to activism? The fourth WHO global forum on human resources for health and implications for dentistry

“…Further, differences also exist in registration requirements, occupational roles and in recognition of mid-level dental providers. 17 Investment in the oral health workforce is critical. The global burden of oral disease remains huge.…”

Introduction to “Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century” Project

“…The six section leaders prepared executive summaries of the articles in their sections; those executive summaries are being published in the August and September issues of the Journal of Dental Education. [9][10][11][12][13][14] The list of authors and articles in each section is in Table 1.…”

Leveling the Three‐Legged Stool

“…If we view these three pillars as three legs of a stool, it is clear from the articles about research in this project that one leg of the stool-the one representing research-is much shorter than the other two. [3][4][5][6][7][8] A stool with a slightly short leg is uneven and aggravating, but if one leg is extremely short (or even absent), the stool becomes useless. This is an oversimplification, but it highlights the disparity among U.S. dental schools, with fewer than a quarter of them receiving more than half of national research funding.…”