Search

This review of U.S. dental schools' clinical curricula suggests that the basic structure of clinical education has not changed significantly in the past 60 years, although important developments include the introduction of competency-based education and community-based clinical education. Most dental schools still have a two-year preclinical curriculum and a two-year clinical curriculum, and most schools still operate a large clinical facility where students receive the bulk of their clinical education and assessment for graduation. In those clinics, dental students are the main providers of patient treatment, with faculty serving in supervisory roles. In addition, a major portion of the entire dental curriculum continues to be dedicated to student education on the restoration of a single tooth or replacement of teeth. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the current safety net activities of dental schools and reviews strategies by which schools could care for more poor and low-income patients. The primary data come from the annual Survey of Dental Education, a joint American Dental Education Association (ADEA) and American Dental Association (ADA) activity. The analyses use descriptive statistics and are intended to give ballpark estimates of patients treated under varying clinical scenarios. Some 107.4 million people are underserved in comparison to utilization rates for middle-income Americans. In 2013-14, pre- and postdoctoral students treated about 1,176,000 disadvantaged patients. This is an estimate; the actual value may be 25% above or below this number. The impact of potential strategies for schools to provide more care to poor and low-income patients are discussed; these are larger class size, more community-based education, a required one-year residency program, and schools' becoming part of publicly funded safety net clinics. While dental schools cannot solve the access problem, they could have a major impact if the payment and delivery strategies discussed were implemented. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry has implemented a Health Resources and Services Administration-funded program to prepare dentists for the complex and comprehensive needs of pediatric patients within rapidly changing demographics and a paradigm shift in dentistry. Traditional dental education has focused on how to respond to oral disease, whereas UCLA's program shifts the paradigm to emphasize early assessment, risk-based prevention, and disease management. A holistic approach to dental care that considers social and environmental determinants is used with minimally invasive techniques for restorative care. To support this change, pediatric dental residents receive traditional training combined with new didactics, advocacy opportunities, and applied learning experiences at community-based organizations. These new elements teach residents to recognize the causal factors of disease and to identify interventions that promote oral health at the individual, family, community, and policy level. Consequently, they are better prepared to treat a diverse group of patients who historically have faced the greatest burden of disease as well as an increased number of barriers to accessing oral health care; these consist of low-income, minority, and/or pediatric populations including children with special health needs. The program's ultimate goal is for residents to deploy these skills in treating vulnerable populations and to demonstrate greater interest in collaborating with non-dental health providers and community organizations to increase access to dental services in private or public health practice settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the results of the annual American Dental Education Association Survey of Dental School Seniors in 2013. Topics include the factors related to the dental school seniors' decision to pursue dentistry as a career, their dental education expenses, such as educational debt, grants, loans and scholarships, and their immediate plans following graduation. It also discusses findings on their perceptions of their community-based clinical experiences.

The Commission on Dental Accreditation recently implemented new predoctoral standards that require dental schools in the United States to provide students with community-based dental education (CBDE) experiences. The objective of this study was to examine the perspectives of supervising dentists (also known as dental preceptors) at rural CBDE sites regarding the University of Nebraska Medical Center program's effectiveness in improving the competencies of dental students. Surveys were sent to all forty-three preceptors in two subsequent years: nineteen responded to all questions in 2012 and sixteen in 2013, for a total of thirty-five participants. These preceptors evaluated the effectiveness of the program based on the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Competencies for the New General Dentist. Overall, these preceptors rated the CBDE program as effective (excellent or very good) in improving the students' competence in five of the six ADEA domains: Critical Thinking, Professionalism, Communication and Interpersonal Skills, Health Promotion, Patient Care: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment Planning, and Patient Care: Establishment and Maintenance of Oral Health. Practice Management and Informatics was found to be the least effective domain of competence. CBDE provides a unique opportunity to develop a competent dental workforce with an appreciation for the value of community service. Applying a competency-based framework to program evaluation can provide valuable information on program effectiveness to program administrators, educators, and the dental preceptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were to explore 1) how students across the four years of a dental curriculum differed in attitudes towards underserved patients and community service at the beginning and end of each school year; 2) how these attitudes changed as a function of participating in required vs. voluntary community-based activities; and 3) what attitudes faculty members held about the effects of community service-learning on students. Surveys were distributed to 440 students at one dental school at the beginning and end of the school year. The overall response rate for those surveys was 75 percent, with variations among classes: first year, 94 percent; second year, 92 percent; third year, 69 percent; and fourth year, 43 percent. Survey data were also collected from twenty-two students (out of a possible forty-seven) who participated in voluntary service-learning and from fifty-four faculty members (out of approximately 150). The results showed that, at the beginning of the year, the first-year students' attitudes were more positive than the responses of students in all other cohorts. However, at the end of the year, their attitudes were less positive. Participating in voluntary service-learning improved students' attitudes towards treating underserved patients only in the short run, and experiencing ten weeks of community-based dental education did not improve their attitudes. The faculty respondents' attitudes, however, were quite positive. The decrease in students' positive attitudes towards treating underserved patients and participating in community service should raise questions about why this loss of idealism occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to assess which components of a community-based dental education (CBDE) program at The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics were associated with overall student performance. This retrospective study analyzed data for 444 fourth-year students who graduated in 2006 through 2011. Information pertaining to students' CBDE rotations and their final grades from the comprehensive clinic (in two areas: Production and Competence) were used for statistical analysis. Bivariate analyses indicated that students who completed CBDE in the fall were more likely to receive an A or B in Production compared to students who completed CBDE in the spring. However, students who completed CBDE in the beginning or end of the academic year were more likely to receive an A or B in Competence compared to those who completed CBDE in the middle of the year. Students who treated a variety of patient types during CBDE experiences (comprehensive and emergency care vs. mainly comprehensive care) were more likely to receive better grades in Production, while CBDE clinic type was not associated with grades. Dental schools should consider how CBDE may impact students' performance in their institutional clinics when developing and evaluating CBDE programs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2006, the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health at A.T. Still University (ATSU ASDOH) implemented an inten-sive community-based education program for its inaugural fourth-year students called the Integrated Community Service Partner-ships (ICSP) program. As part of the ICSP program, students spend half of their clinical experience (approximately ninety-five days) in rotations at four or five community-based clinics. More than sixty clinics in Arizona and throughout the country serve as rotation sites. ATSU ASDOH conducts focus groups with all fourth-year students prior to graduation for program improvement and research. The purpose of this study was to characterize critical incidents students identified as instrumental to learning, as well as successes and challenges of the program. Qualitative data from the 2009 and 2010 focus groups were analyzed, includ-ing a total of 104 students. The types of critical incidents students chose to describe in the focus groups involved patient factors, contextual factors, and interpersonal factors. While students believed their ICSP program external rotation experiences were fundamental in their clinical and professional development, they also noted challenges associated with this intense community-based education program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based educational activities have been introduced into health education programs across the world. However, research on students' perceptions of their experiences in these settings has been limited. The objectives of this study were to assess a group of Brazilian dental students' views of their experiences in a service-learning program focusing on pediatric dental care and to explore changes in their perceptions over the course of the program. Data were collected from fifty-five fourth-year dental students, who submitted a total of 185 reports at four points in time. The students spent sixteen of the 128 hours of their pediatric dentistry course in community-based education developing activities linked to pediatric dental care. Two professors rated each report as a positive or negative experience (Kappa 0.7) and recorded whether the students' reports reflected one or more of five types of response. The response types concerned dental treatment practice, multidisciplinary activities, observation of infant/toddler consultations, commitment of the outreach health team, and change of plans due to technical problems. The data showed that the students had a positive first impression after a short stay in a community-service program, but there was a decrease in the students' positive experiences over time (p<0.001). The students' perceptions of the outreach health team as "being not committed" (OR 6.82, 95 percent CI 2.12-21.90) and experiences of a "no change of plans due to technical problems" (OR 0.09, 95 percent CI 0.04-0.20) associated with negative student experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the influence of community-based dental education (CBDE) on dental students' perceived ability to treat underserved patients and their selection of community dental clinics as a first career path. In a 2009 survey, fourth-year dental students at the University of Michigan recorded their attitudes, skill level, and confidence in treating underserved patients before and after CBDE rotations and estimated what percentage of their practice they planned to devote to Medicaid-eligible patients. The first career choices of graduates from 2005 to 2010 were also correlated with the number of weeks the students spent in CBDE rotations. The results showed an improvement in student skill and confidence in treating low-income patients after the rotations. The examination of first career choices showed that, after three to five weeks of CBDE rotations, 5.6 percent of the students planned to practice in a community-based dental clinic. However, in 2009 when rotations were increased to eight weeks and included multiple clinic types, 11.8 percent of the students in 2009 and 16.5 percent in 2010 selected a community-based dental clinic as their preferred practice location. These findings suggest that CBDE improves dental students' skill and confidence level in treating underserved patients and that more time spent in CBDE rotations, specifically more than five weeks in multiple clinic types, may increase the number of graduates who select practice in community-based clinics as a first career choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dentists need to be able to give people with HIV/AIDS compassionate and comprehensive care. Previous studies have shown that many dental students have negative attitudes towards treating such individuals. This article addresses the effectiveness of a program that trains dental students in the issues of treating this population. All predoctoral students at the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry are required to receive this training. Students complete a pre-session survey during their third year and a post-session survey as they complete the training during their fourth year. The survey was administered from 2003 to 2009 during which 386 students completed responses to the post-session survey. Five questions in the survey address self-evaluation of knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in the efficacy of universal precautions and post-exposure prophylaxis following bloodborne exposures. This study reports on five two-year testing cycles and shows significant shifts in all five areas surveyed. The most significant gains were in the two areas that are not addressed in much detail in other courses in the dental school curriculum. These are familiarity with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and confidence in the efficacy of PEP. These data support the usefulness of such a program in preparing future dentists to deliver appropriate care to persons living with HIV/AIDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop a long-term, sustainable partnership with dental schools, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) need to assess the financial impact of dental students on their financial operations. Primary concerns are that students will not cover their marginal costs and will reduce the productivity of clinic dentists. This study uses data from Asian Health Services, an FQHC in Oakland, California, to examine revenues generated by senior dental students and by FQHC dentists when students are and are not present. The analysis of ten months of electronic record data showed that two full-time equivalent students generated $420,549 in gross revenues and reduced dentist output by only $29,000. While the results are from just one FQHC, they strongly suggest that students make a significant contribution to clinic productivity and finances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of community dental rotations on the clinical productivity of senior students when they returned to the dental school clinic. Data from two classes at the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine were used to compare productivity pre- and post-externship experiences (continuous ten weeks), controlling for several confounding variables. The results indicated a statistically significant and clinically important increase in post-rotation student productivity and revenues. This study suggests that community clinic rotations could offset the loss of dental school revenues during the externship period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late 1990s, Ohio's citizens expre sed to the tate leader hip that acce s to dental care wa their greatest unmet health need. State-sponsored urveys continued to report that certain populations-the poor, disabled and minoritie xperience higher-than-average rates of dental disease and cannot access care. The Ohio State University allege ofDenti try sought to respond to this need by securing a $1.5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2002 and began an experiment in engagement with community partners unprecedented in its hi tory. As the state's flagship dental institution, the college committed to a fundamental change in it clinical education of students and began a proces of making dental education relevant to our citizen , expo ing students to populations they were being trained to help, and bolstering the fragile statewide network of safety-net clinics with providers. This case history offers an operational overview, including some challenges and ucce es, of one school's journey in community-based dental education [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based dental education has been integral to the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine's mission for the past thirty years. This report describes the programs, their history, and their outcomes. The three main educational experiences outside the school are the applied professional experience clerkship, the pediatric dentistry rotation, and the extramural training program. By all student and community outcomes measured, such as students' self-confidence, patient management skills, clinical technical kills, and increase in community members' access to care, these programs are a success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2002, community-ba ed education at the Univer ity of Illinois at Chicago College of Denti try (COD) has evolved from non-exi tent to a robust program that is an essential component of the predoctoral program. A part of the college's curricular innovation, community-ba ed education has demonstrated alignment of the COD's mi sion with that of our parent institution, contributed significantly to student learning and preparedness, and enhanced clinic experiences and revenue. Student interest and support have been and continue to be enthusiastic and valued. The faculty has been generally supportive, but properly focused on demonstrated student learning outcomes. This faculty observation and evaluation, supported by evidence, has resulted in the faculty's rethinking traditional teaching and learning strategies, allowing innovative educational changes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Junior and senior dental students generate a significant portion of dental school clinical revenues. Some deans and faculty members are concerned that school clinic income declines when students spend substantial time in community clinics on extramural rotations. This study uses data from eight dental schools to examine the difference in senior clinic operating revenues and expenses between schools with extensive community-based dental education programs and those with limited communitybased dental education programs. The analysis shows that schools with extensive programs have substantially lower per senior student clinic losse . This is due to having fewer chair per student and having a larger class ize, thus generating more tuition revenues. The economic advantages of community-based dental education programs for their schools are substantial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based dental education programs (CBDEPs) are an important part of the curriculum in many dental schools. This article describes the redesign of the CBDEP at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. As part of the formative evaluation of this CBDEP, information on clinical productivity was collected in order to educate intramural faculty members about the scope and extent of services provided in extramural sites; develop an understanding of the productivity expected; complement the intramural education by placing dental students in particular settings where they could enhance certain clinical disciplines; and serve as a decision making tool in the selection of sites that provide the richest clinical experiences. A total of 158 students participated in the CBDEP during the three years of our study (2006-08). Productivity per site was calculated based on total, mean, and median number of services provided, billing (utilizing Kentucky's Medicaid fees for 2006), and Relative Value Units (RVUs). A total of 26,202 services, $972,109 in billing, and 43,053 RVUs was generated by the students, with an average of 175 services, $6,481, and 287 RVUs per student. Four categories (restorative, oral surgery, preventive, and diagnostic) accounted for 88 percent of total RVUs for all sites and all years. Productivity measured with RVU was the highest at private practices. Students spent most of their time providing restorative and oral surgery services. Measuring clinical productivity can be an effective tool to establish benchmarks, improve the site selection process, and educate those skeptical about the benefits of extramural education. Such an evaluation will enable faculty and program administrators involved in CBDEP to make continuous improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic enrichment programs can be essential to efforts by dental schools to recruit and enroll underrepresented minority students (URM). Many summer academic enrichment programs provide additional preparation and support to URM students in the sciences. They often address barriers to student achievement such as unevenness in academic preparation, less rigorous educational background, family influence on preparation aspiration and success, unease in a new setting, and lack of professional role models. To be successful, these programs must address both the academic and social complexities of URM students and often require a range of programs to meet the specific needs of different student groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter describes the strategies implemented by one dental school during the past decade to establish an environment that supports a culture of diversity. The school audited its initial diversity milieu, authored a strategic plan for diversity, fully participated in university-wide diversity initiatives, and created an administrative infrastructure for underrepresented minority (URM) student support. Mentoring and counseling programs were established for URM students, and a schoolwide diversity committee was formed to make cultural competence a high priority for all students,. faculty, and staff. URM faculty members were recruited and retained through a minority faculty development program. Student professional organizations were established and supported by mentoring partnerships with members of the corresponding organizations in the practicing community. The school's diversity culture is continuously evaluated and nurtured within the context of evolving human interactions in society, dental education, and dental practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this chapter we describe the institutional and policy-level strategies that dental schools in the Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education program used to modify their admissions practices to increase the diversity of their student bodies. Schools developed and used clear statements recognizing the value of diversity. They incorporated recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings regarding educational diversity into their revised admissions practices; these rulings cited diversity as both a "compelling interest" and its use in only "narrowly tailored" circumstances. We make a case for admissions decisions based on a comprehensive evaluation that balances the quantitative and qualitative qualities of a candidate. It refutes the practice of overreliance on standardized tests by detailing the whole-file review process to measure merit and professional promise. Also described is a range of noncognitive variables (e.g., leadership, ability to sustain academic achievement with competing priorities, volunteerism, communication, social background, and disadvantaged status) that schools can take into consideration in admissions decisions. Admissions committees can tie this comprehensive review of candidates into the case for promoting cross-cultural understanding and enhanced competence to provide care to patients from diverse backgrounds. In addition, the chapter reviews the challenges schools face in developing admissions policies and procedures that reflect the university's mission for diversity. It addresses the importance of a diverse composition of the admissions committee. It also describes how tailored workshops and technical assistance for admissions committees can help schools improve their student diversity and how admissions committees can engage in a process of periodic review of their diversity objectives in relationship to the school's mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many changes are being made, many are still needed in educating future dental professionals about prevention programs, ethics, professionalism, communication, cultural competence, and access to care. It is not yet clear if producing more dentists will put these professionals into underserved areas where they are needed, with the skills they need. The achievements of the Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education program schools in increasing the amount of time students spend in community-based education and service-learning programs result from a widespread, national effort to meet this challenge. This article is a personal reflection and review of these programs, considering what has been learned and still needs to be learned about student educational impact and quality, faculty issues, program management, infrastructure and logistics, and financial impact, with suggestions for future study that can help dental schools design the most effective programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the experiences of community dental clinic directors with dental schools and students during their collaboration project. It mentions that dental students have been heldpful to dental clinics in terms of increasing access to care for patients, improving the quality of care and assisting with the recruitment of dentists. It affirms that they have also acquired new skills that could help them in their future professions.

Community-based dental education (CBDE) shifts a substantial portion of dental clinical education from dental school clinics to mainly public health settings. For dental students to learn effectively in community settings they need preparatory education in cultural awareness, communication skills, and the social and behavioral sciences. The effective integration of CBDE into a dental curriculum requires reflective components, evaluation, and highly organized community-based experiences. This chapter reviews organizational principles and specific strategies to ensure that CBDE is conducted in a fashion that enables student learning and community oral health service. CBDE has substantial potential for affecting the values and behaviors of dental students relative to health care access for underserved populations and for attracting diverse students to dental education. CBDE also provides dentistry with an opportunity to guide dental faculty and student values and orientation towards public service, engagement, ethics, and the health of the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial impact of community-based dental education on dental school and community clinic budgets is a major issue. The evidence suggests that community experiences for dental students of fifty or more days, if effectively managed, can increase school net revenues due to the following factors: 1) the community rotations increase student productivity, approximating the loss of dental school clinical income; 2) the reallocation of unused clinical resources at the dental school reduces student clinic deficits; 3) schools and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) that share surplus student patient revenues generate additional net income; and 4) enrollment of more students without additional new facilities and faculty increases total school tuition revenues. For FQHC dental clinics, student rotations increase the number of patients treated and may generate surplus revenues. Community-based dental education also provides schools and clinics important non-financial advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful management of community-based service-learning relies on developing and maintaining community partnerships that meet both the educational mission of the dental school and the service mission of the community clinic. The partnership enhances the dental curriculum by introducing students to a wide variety of practice models, patient populations, and perspectives on health care delivery systems. The partnership enhances the service mission of the community sites by providing them with a university affiliation, a window into the state-of-the-art techniques that students bring with them from the dental school, and a pool of future graduates who may choose to practice in that clinic setting. This "win-win" scenario is not automatic, but rather relies on carefully matching, maintaining, and evaluating the service-learning partnerships. This article describes the development and implementation of the community-based service-learning curriculum in the College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infrastructure of a community-based dental education program is important to its success. Thorough preparation of students for the community experience and careful selection of community clinical sites are indispensable. Student training in cultural competence, early community exposure, third-year clinical training, assignment of students to rotations, transportation, and housing all need careful attention. When selecting sites for the community rotation, it is important to have detailed site criteria or a wish list, a memorandum of understanding, and awareness of legal liability issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disparities in access to dental care are a major problem in the United States. Effectively run community-based dental education programs can make a significant contribution to reducing access disparities and at the same time enrich the educational experiences of dental students and residents. For complex historical reasons, dental schools did not base their clinical training programs in community hospitals and clinics like the other health professions. Now, because of trends in school finances, changes in societal values, and limitations in current educational experiences, schools are increasing the time students spend in community clinics. This is likely to continue. The chapters in the first section of the report on the Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education program-for which this chapter serves as an introduction-provide detailed information on the operation of community-based education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Pipeline, Profession, and Practice, program which is sponsored by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and their role. Topics discussed include the Pipeline program aims to build a strong, capable, and diverse workforce within the field of dentistry, equipped to address the critical shortage of oral health care services for underserved and disadvantaged populations, and RWJF provided funding to dental schools to develop and execute a Pipeline program.

This study examined the current format of curricula at North American dental schools, determined curriculum evaluation strategies, and identified recently implemented changes as well as planned future innovations. The academic affairs deans of sixty-four North American dental schools received an email survey in August 2002; a second, follow-up survey was sent to nonresponders in February 2003. Online responses were collected and analyzed using SurveyTracker software. The final response rate was 87 percent, with forty-eight U.S. schools and eight Canadian schools responding. Respondents were asked to select descriptive statements about the general organization of their curricula and the degree to which problem-based learning (PBL), case-reinforced learning (CRL), curricular integration, and community-based clinical treatment experiences were incorporated. They were also requested to identify strategies employed to evaluate the curriculum and to report recently completed and desired future curriculum modifications. In regard to desired future curriculum innovations, respondents identified why they were considering curriculum changes and identified resources needed to implement the planned changes. Sixty-six percent of those who responded defined their current curriculum organization as primarily discipline-based with a few interdisciplinary courses. Nearly 60 percent of schools reported that they used PBL and CRL in specific courses or for components of certain courses, but only 5 percent of the respondents indicated that all of their courses used PBL. Regarding integration of major sections of the curriculum, only 7 percent reported that their entire curriculum was organized around themes of interrelated topics. Sixty-four percent reported that their curriculum had required community-based clinical treatment experiences for students. The most frequent innovations in the past three years were increased use of computer and web-based learning (86 percent), creation of patient care experiences early in the curriculum (84 percent), enhancement of competency evaluation methods (84 percent), and curriculum decompression (79 percent). These items plus increased community-based care were the most frequently identified future curricular innovations. There were virtually no differences between the responses of Canadian and U.S. dental schools. The results of this study help to broadly characterize dental curricula at North American dental institutions and identify curriculum modifications anticipated by the academic dean respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based field experiences (CBFE) provide students with exemplary experiential learning opportunities. The purposes of this paper are to describe the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry (UKCD) CBFE and report the results of a two-year, self-report survey that assessed the primary course goal, students' perceptions of change in knowledge and skills related to nineteen areas of patient care (n = 90, 100% return rate), and their overall rating of the program. Knowledge and skill data were analyzed using the non-parametric binomial test for comparing proportions. A significant (.05 level) majority of students reported increases in knowledge in all areas to which they were exposed. Descriptive frequencies summarizing the results of the total CBFE experience indicate that the majority of students felt it was a positive experience. The CBFE continues to be a meaningful element in the UKCD curriculum as it provides students with a relevant, authentic educational experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the findings of Advisory Committee's study regarding the community-based programs in dental education. It mentions the problems that confront the dental education which community programs are concerned with, including decreased public and university support, limited opportunity for operating cost recovery, and high tuition and student debt. Moreover, understating of the clinical and financial resources is one of the recommendations mentioned in the study.

The article focuses on the community-based dental programs of Marquette University. It mentions the goals, objectives, and the process of approval and implementation of the extramural programs at the university. It states that the community-based dental initiative of the school focuses on patient care. Moreover, it discusses the twelve programs and institutions where the school is involved including Scenic Bluffs Community Health Center and Wisconsin National Guard Dental Sealant Project.

Dental schools are hard pressed to find the resources to adequately fund their mission of education, research, and service. Over the years, schools have tried to make up for the loss in public funds by increasing student tuition, increasing enrollment, and reducing the growth in faculty and staff salaries and program costs. Unfortunately, these strategies have not solved the financial problems. Declining resources are threatening the future of dental education. Data presented in this report attempt to answer the following question: will community-based dental education restore the fiscal health of dental schools and provide student an equal or better education? By reducing the number of chairs per student and developing revenue-sharing relationships with community clinics, community-based dental education offers a realistic option for putting dental schools on a solid financial footing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including community-based dental education, dental school finances, and dental student's performance and productivity.

The article focuses on assessment of the Dental Pipeline Program from the External Reviewers and National Program Office. Topics discussed include aims of the Pipeline program were ambitious, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the California Endowment commended for investing in such a worthy cause, and the evaluation efforts for the Pipeline program have been comprehensive and have looked at many dimensions of a complex issue.