Teaching Cariology in Asia and Arabia

Abstract

The ORCA education platform 2020 had the aim to assess the undergraduate curriculum in cariology in Asian and Arabian countries in order to support structured teaching of cariology in these countries with about almost half of the global population. Representatives of 4 Asian and 4 Arabian countries completed a comprehensive questionnaire on structure of dental education in their country in general and the extent, the content, the responsibilities, structure and standardization regarding cariology in particular. In spite of a wide range from very few universities (Lebanon 3) to larger numbers of dental schools (India 313, China 121, Russia 52) there were similar statements on the list of content for cariology teaching. Often the catalogue was close to the Undergraduate Core Curriculum in Cariology (UCCC) covering most of the 5 domains from basic science to dental public health, but a national curriculum for cariology or dentistry was mostly missing. With various departments being involved, a need of coordination is obvious. Most representatives thought it possible and feasible to teach a standardized curriculum in cariology on the basis of the UCCC. In conclusion, many Arabian and Asian countries have implemented modern, evidence-based curricula in their universities, but an obligatory national curriculum in cariology would be advisable to standardize the quality in teaching.

The Core Curriculum in Cariology: Fiction or Reality? Challenges about Implementation

“…The CCC was developed as a strategy for providing a conceptual framework and homogenizing the teaching of cariology. It has been discussed and partially modified in several parts of the world [8‒13, 15, 16]. However, among those who are familiar and have experience with the CCC (focus of this manuscript), various challenges for fully CCC implementation persist.…”

Core Cariology Curriculum Framework in Spanish for Latin American dental schools: development and consensus

“…43 In general, surveys on cariology teaching throughout the world have shown that the curative approach continues to be followed. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Considering that the future challenge is to translate the evidence (and guidelines, e.g., this framework) into practice in order to render its real relevance, 44 work with implementation science 45 and support from the COM-B (capability, opportunity, motivation behavior model) 46 is on the way to start elucidating these aspects. For the moment this will occur on a small scale in eight Latin American Spanish-speaking dental schools.…”

“…Transformation of the cariology curriculum has been driven by the need to translate the caries paradigm shift into education and the practice, to move away from the curative approach shown in cariology teaching surveys in dental schools worldwide (e.g., in Japan, 23 Europe, 24 Latin America, 25 Brazil, 26,27 Chile, 28 Canada, 29 Australia with New Zeland 30 and Asian and Arabian countries 31 ), towards a curricula where caries is considered a preventable disease that can be controlled through a patient-centered, risk-based caries management, with a focus on health outcomes to maintain oral health and preserve tooth structure in the long-term. 32 The European Core Curriculum in Cariology started the process in 2010 with the support from ORCA and the Association of Dental Education in Europe (ADEE).…”