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Introduction: Orthodontics is a significant part of general dentistry education. Yet, many general dentistry graduates seldom practice orthodontics. This study assesses the desire of last-year dental students at Shahid Beheshti Dental School towards orthodontic treatments in their future career. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was validated by ten dental specialists. For reliability, it was re-administered to ten students after ten days. Descriptive statistics were used for results presentation. The Mann-Whitney test compared ranked responses, and the Kruskal-Wallis test compared grade point average (GPA) variations. The comparison of mean opinions based on age, gender, and academic term was conducted with the t-test independent samples and based on GPA status with a one-way ANOVA. Analyses were done using SPSS 25, with a significance level of 0.05. Results: In this study, 58 last-year students were questioned in line with the research objectives. More than half of the students believe that the hours dedicated to teaching orthodontic courses at university are insufficient (65%), the quality of theoretical teaching is low (55%), practical teaching hours and presence in the department are inadequate (48%). Only 15 percent of students declared they have the necessary confidence to diagnose and conduct orthodontic treatments after graduation. About half of the students express an interest in attending supplementary orthodontics courses after graduation (39%). Conclusion: According to approximately half of the students’ opinions, the quality of teaching theoretical and conceptual orthodontics courses is low. Additionally, students lack the necessary confidence and desire to diagnose, plan, and perform treatments after graduation. Keywords: Dental education; General dentistry; Orthodontics; Orthodontics education.

Background: One method for the assessment of dentistry curricula is to evaluate dentistry graduateschr('39') satisfaction with their acquired clinical skills. Given the lack of data on this subject at the national level, this study aimed to evaluate the satisfaction with clinical skills training in general dentistry graduates in Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 614 general dentistry graduates participating in the dentistry residency exam in 2019 in Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of three sections. The validity and reliability of the designed questionnaire were approved using statistical tests. The questionnaires were distributed among the participants before the residency exam. After collecting the completed questionnaires, their data were extracted and analyzed in SPSS-26 using Mann-Whitney’s U-test and the Kruskal-Wallis test to compare the distribution of satisfaction according to entrance year and university type. Results: The response rate was 100%, which must be because the questionnaires were distributed during the residency exam session. According to the participants, the highest level of satisfaction with the practical skills acquired pertained to pediatric dentistry (76.5%), operative dentistry (71.4%) and radiology (64.7%), and the lowest pertained to endodontics (38.1%), orthodontics (41.9%) and oral maxillofacial pathology (45.3%). Conclusion: Overall, the general dentistry graduateschr('39') satisfaction with the acquired skills was above average (more than 50%) in most of the skills. Nevertheless, entrance year, practical skills and faculties had a significant impact on the level of satisfaction.

Background and Aims: The importance of quality in medical education makes the need for better standards in educational systems in the center of interest as the basis for certification. Standards needed to be evaluated by program administrators before the implementation phase. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the general dentistry standards program in Islamic republic of Iran in dental schools view point. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed during the year 2011 and 2012. A list of 16 faculties was introduced by the dental secretariat of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. A check list was conducted based on the basic standards of undergraduate dental program that consisted of the importance and feasibility of each standard. The checklist was evaluated by sixteen dental schools representatives and asked their faculty members and reported back to the dental secretariat of the Ministry of Health. Results were reported in descriptive statistics manner. Results: Data were collected from 14 dental schools. (Response rate=87%). All of the criteria were essential with more than 85% agreement of the faculties. There were more than 70% of criteria that were not feasible in less than one year. Conclusion: The dental standard program was widely accepted by the faculties over the country. However, it seemed that by the faculties it would fail if used as accreditation base line.

Introduction The Commission on Dental Accreditation emphasizes the importance of teaching critical thinking. If faculty are expected to change the way they teach, training resources that employ the methods of promoting critical thinking must be made available to provide guidance on how to teach critical thinking. A search of MedEdPORTAL showed no peer-reviewed active learning resources for faculty development in the domain of critical thinking. Methods This 90-minute workshop is designed to provide preclinical and clinical dental faculty with strategies to promote critical thinking skills in their students. It includes a presentation on foundational knowledge about critical thinking and knowledge organization, followed by small- and large-group activities. Videos of real teaching encounters are reviewed so that different teaching styles can be seen and discussed. Results This workshop was given at the 2014 American Dental Education Association Annual Session, receiving an overall rating of 3.67 on a Likert-type scale of 1–4, with 4 being the highest score. It was repeated at the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, where it received an overall rating of 4.7 on a Likert scale of 1–5, with 5 being the highest score. Discussion For faculty who learned in teacher-centered curricula, training may be necessary to provide them with skills for contemporary teaching in this new domain of competence. This workshop offers such training.

Dental care in Poland is based both on the public system (reimbursement by the National Health Fund) and on the private funding (non-reimbursed). The aim of the paper was an analysis of the structure of non-reimbursed and reimbursed therapeutic procedures provided at a general dental care office. The study material was medical documentation of 669 patients treated for 3 months (the third quarter of 2013) at a general dental care office. The structure of therapeutic procedures, with the exception of orthodontic and prosthetic treatment, was analyzed, taking into account the patients’ gender, age, place of residence, the kind of procedure, and the payment type they made. The procedures reimbursed by the National Health Fund constituted 60.1% of all the procedures provided to patients at a dental office. Both among the procedures reimbursed by the National Health Fund and non-reimbursed procedures, the therapeutic procedures prevailed significantly over the prophylactic ones; in all age groups conservative treatment was predominant. An increase in the number of extractions in patients over 40 years of age, in comparison to younger patients, was found. The number of the dental procedures reimbursed by the National Health Fund, compared to the number of the non-reimbursed ones, increased with the patients’ age.

Dental implant has become a fast developing and dynamic field in dental practice. It is acknowledged as a predictable treatment modality with high clinical success rates. Conventional fixed prostheses are no longer considered to be the first choice of treatment for replacing a missing tooth. Despite the increasing number of patients requesting dental implant treatments, there are only some clinicians who are offering implant therapy in their daily practice. The International team for Implantology described a straightforward case as a simple case such as implant placements in adquate soft and hard tissue conditions and single-tooth restorations in a non-aesthetic zone. A review of the current literature discussed the implementation of implant dentistry in universities worldwide into their curriculum for both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in general dentistry. The European consensus in implant dentistry education concluded that it is desirable to include the surgical technique for implant placement for straightforward cases into the dental curriculum. The levels and limitations to which the various aspects of implant dentistry and related skills are taught to be determined by the academic community. This review aimed at promoting awareness amongst dental practitioners and institutions in Indonesia of the shifting treatment paradigm in the maangement of a missing tooth. Hence clinicians will be able to include implant dentistry in the treatment planning of their patients and also undertake a significant part in the execution of such treatments.

Dental students in the United States face a variety of choices often involving incredibly complex issues when negotiating for a position as an associate employee in a general dentistry private practice. Choices range from relatively simple and essentially temporary "jobs" defined by boiler-plate contracts, to very complicated and lengthy contracts defining not only the associateship position but also potential buy-in/buy-out provisions to become practice owners. This editorial describes some of my experiences in last 12 years in helping in some capacity over 120 students navigate these options. My remarks focus on employment opportunities which students viewed not simply as temporary jobs, but as careers leading to potential practice ownership.

Many associateship employment contracts in U.S. general dental practice, probably about 85% based on our review of over 100 contracts in the past decade, are silent about a key issue in associate-ships--namely, compensating associates for supervising dental hygiene production. Not addressing this issue raises ethical questions as well as concerns about professional liability regarding the super-vision of dental hygiene. The associate and owner need to in-clude in an employment agreement what compensation will be given to the associate for supervising dental hygiene production. Compensating associates for supervising dental hygiene production will certainly have a financial impact on the practice. However, direct-ly addressing the issue will allow the owner to manage the financial impact on the practice while also providing a more mutually beneficial employment experience. The associate and owner-dentist need to discuss thoroughly and openly what compensation options are available, if any, to the associate for supervising dental hygiene production. In turn, these should be incorporated in an employment agreement. Five specific compensation strategies are suggested for managing this issue, ranging from production credit for periodic examinations fees and/or radiographs, to compensation for a set amount for each hygiene patient supervised, to profit-sharing based on a pro-rated basis of supervised hygiene production. Successful associateship ar-rangements, including those intended to lead to future practice buy-in or buy-outs, depend in large part of meeting mutual expectations of both parties. Compensating associates for supervising dental hygiene production is a seldom discussed but vitally important issue to manage.

Dental student educational debt in the United States continues to grow as a concern for both dental educators and dental students. While certainly warranted, this concern needs to be understood from the perspective of return on investment. The student debt issue remains a critical one. However, this debt is essentially "good" debt when viewed as an investment made by associates/employees of general dental practices and general dental practice owners.