What I wish I'd learned at dental school

Abstract

Background Much concern appears to exist as to the scope and content of contemporary dental school programmes, with the oft-cited criticism being made that dental graduates are 'no longer as good as they used to be'.Aim The aim of this project was to survey the views of dentists - both new graduates and more established practitioners - on aspects of their own dental school training they felt had been deficient as well as commenting on what aspects of dental school education they would like to see improved/enhanced in current times.Methods An invitation to complete an Internet-based questionnaire was emailed to the Fellows and Members of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK). Topics in the questionnaire included the respondent's own dental education history, how well they felt their dental school training had covered certain clinical and non-clinical topics; and their opinions on areas they felt should be included in contemporary dental school programmes.Results Six hundred and forty-nine responses were received from 3,348 emailed invitations (response rate = 19.4%). Sixty-one percent (395) of respondents were qualified for 10 years or more. Among clinical skills and techniques, a majority of respondents reported they felt they had not had sufficient teaching/training in dental school in surgical endodontics (76%), conscious sedation (72%), root surface debridement (71%), fixed orthodontic appliances (68%), porcelain veneers (63%), implants (56%) and posterior composites (53%). If designing a new dental school programme, the most common topics respondents would seek to include/increase were business and practice management (21%), communication skills (including patient management and leadership skills) (10%), and increased clinical time and experience (8%).Conclusions The findings of this project are of interest and relevance to those working with student dentists and young dental practitioners. A greater emphasis is needed on the teaching of certain non-clinical subjects such as business and communication skills, while within clinical subjects there is need to refine and expand teaching in identified areas such as exodontia and endodontics.

A cross-sectional study of dentists about the need for a practice management course in undergraduate dental program

“…[ 11 ] Similarly, dental practitioners were concerned about managing financial and legal matters, understanding dental market and culture, and dealing with occupational health problems in Mexico. [ 12 ] The inclusion of topics related to business and practice management in a new dental program was most commonly recommended by the dentists in the U. K.[ 13 ] Senior Malaysian dentists stressed the need to pay attention to improve the knowledge and skills of principles of management, staff administration, and professional developments among graduating students. [ 14 ] In Iran, 70% of general dentists were highly satisfied with a practice management course, and 87% expressed the need for more such training courses.…”

Why UK dental education should take a greater interest in the behavioural and social sciences

“…5 As a result, the 'soft skills' of dentistry, once under-recognised, are acknowledged as making a valid contribution to professional development of dentists and dentistry. 6 With this comes an implied appreciation of the input that the behavioural and social sciences (BeSS) can make to the design, delivery and assessment of dental education.…”

“…In addition to a call for more clinical time and experience, this survey also expressed a need for more focus on business and management issues and communication skills, including patient management and leadership. 6 Such a finding reflects the fact that many attributes of successful general dental practice -being a reflective healthcare practitioner, having effective teamworking, interprofessional and communication skills -are nurtured and advanced by a knowledge of the BeSS. 9 As a result, it is apt that the BeSS have a place in UK dental education.…”

Educational Model Study to Train and Develop Competitive Workers, Based on Learning Objectives

“…In particular, Total Quality Management (TQM) requires that the basic statistical knowledge of mathematics is still not controlled by the many graduates from high school. Many graduates of vocational high schools which still have deficiencies in these basic skills(G. R. Oliver, Lynch, Chadwick, Santini, & Wilson, 2016;Ray, Milston, Doherty, & Crean, 2017;Wongnaa & Boachie, 2018).…”