Search

Presents findings of the annual analysis of dental school applicant numbers and characteristics conducted by the American Dental Education Association. There were 7,412 applicants to dental schools in 2001, and 57.6% were enrolled in 2001. Provides other data about applicants and admissions. (SLD)

Describes efforts toward minority faculty development in dentistry, including those of Harlem Hospital-Columbia University School of Dentistry and Oral Surgery, the National Dental Association Foundation, and Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center. Explains that critical elements in the success of these programs are environment, selection criteria, mentoring, networking, and finance. (EV)

Discusses, in the context of the experience of the Boston University School of Dental Medicine, the challenges and opportunities inherent in creating and sustaining a diverse student body and a diverse faculty, staff, and administration. Highlights the role of the school's evolution as a learning organization as an essential contributing factor to success in minority recruitment and retention efforts. (EV)

Asserts that a substantial improvement in the diversity of the oral health student body and eventual workforce is a critical element to achieving the goals of improving oral health and quality of life and eliminating health disparities. Offers data about the disparities, and discusses the role of the Office of the Surgeon General and of dental schools. (EV)

Examined the relationship between perceived stress and academic performance in 202 dental students at an Australian dental school. Found little support for an association between increased factor stress scores on the Dental Environmental Stress (DES) questionnaire and reduced academic performance. (EV)

Asserts that an education colored by research in one way of achieving the intellectual rigor necessary for the dentistry professional. Suggests that the key is cultivating in students a taste for complexity, for problems, and for problem solving. Students would therefore become people of science able to acquire and assimilate new knowledge and adapt to changes. (EV)

Surveyed Canadian dental school students and faculty and found that students gave equal or more lenient penalties than faculty for the same academic offense; extenuating circumstances introduced via case presentations altered penalty choice only slightly; and offenses could be grouped to correspond with appropriate penalties, thereby establishing a jurisprudence grid that may serve as a guideline for adjudication committees. (EV)

Comapred University of Mississippi dental student scores on the Dental Admission Test (DAT) and Part I of the National Board Dental Examinations (NBDE) and found that DAT reading comprehension was a statistically significant predictor of all four subtests of the NBDE. Also found that DAT biology and organic chemistry scores were predictors of NBDE biochemistry-physiology, and that DAT quantitative analysis was predictive of NBDE dental anatomy and occlusion. (EV)

Surveyed directors of programs in postgraduate education in general dentistry (PGD) about critical issues facing their programs. Identified 12 themes: lack of postdoctoral applicants; student quality; professionalism and attitudes; number of postdoctoral positions; lack of funding; quality of facilities; special patient care; program curriculum; educator issues; mandatory or encouraged PGD year; value of dental program; and dentist shortage. (EV)

An annual survey of graduating seniors by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) obtained data about their financing of dental education, graduating indebtedness, practice and postdoctoral education plans following graduation, and impressions of the adequacy of time directed to various areas of predoctoral instruction. Also related findings to previous years' results. (EV)

Discusses the rationale for the introduction of problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy into dental education, the modalities of PBL being introduced, and the implications of its introduction into dental schools. Addresses implementation, faculty development, admissions, and assessment. Presents and discusses observations from a parallel-track dental PBL curriculum at the University of Southern California. (EV)

The American Dental Education Association's annual survey of dental school graduating seniors provides data on students' financing of dental education, graduating indebtedness, practice and postdoctoral education plans, decision factors that influenced post-graduation plans, and impressions of the adequacy of time directed to various areas of pre-doctoral instruction. (EV)

Conducted a measurement study to validate a preliminary survey for dental students which contained five subscales: computer use, information resource use, computer knowledge, capabilities of computer systems, and effects of computers on dental practice. Found that all survey scales except computer use were unidimensional; computer use required a two-factor solution that distinguished between clinical and nonclinical uses of computers. (EV)

Compiled from many of the surveys that the American Dental Education Association routinely publishes, along with data from surveys conducted by the American Dental Association and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, presents statistical tables and descriptive text on trends among dental patients, among dental practitioners, and in dental education. (EV)

Explores enrollment of underrepresented minority students in dental schools. Describes challenges to affirmative action, major minority recruitment programs, where minorities are enrolled, the Opportunities for Minority Students in U.S. Dental Schools (OMSUSDS) report, and American Dental Education Association (ADEA) strategies to enhance recruitment and retention. Includes ADEA bylaws, policies, position statements, and resolutions regarding equity and diversity. (EV)

Dental students and their problem-based learning (PBL) tutors completed questionnaires on the tutor's role after each PBL case. Found that although tutors displayed a more nuanced perspective on their performance than did students, questionnaire items related to tutor modeling of professional conduct within tutorials consistently emerged as important for both. (EV)

Studied the smoking cessation attitudes and practices of 244 fourth-year dental students through a self-report survey. Students generally endorsed tobacco prevention practices, but perceived barriers to service provision. Findings show the receptivity of students to smoking cessation education and the need to include cessation counseling training in the dental curriculum. (SLD)

Describes an innovative program developed at the University of California San Francisco and designed to address the shortage of underrepresented minorities and persons of disadvantaged backgrounds in the dental profession and to improve access to care for disadvantaged communities. The program involves exam preparation and learning skills courses, assistance in the reapplication process, clinical clerkships, and university science courses. (EV)

Analysis of questionnaire responses of 147 dental students before and after attending a two-hour sexual harassment workshop found workshop participation significantly changed student attitudes about sexual harassment regardless of gender, year in dental education, or whether they had been harassed personally or had witnessed harassment. There were also significant gender-related differences in the direction and magnitude of attitude changes. (DB)

Evaluated the effectiveness of an educational game, "The Prosthodontic Olympics," to improve the speed of dental students in their performance of selected laboratory procedures. The students race to complete a procedure which is then judged for quality. Evaluation indicated participants increased their speed by as much as 50 percent without sacrificing quality and responded positively to the activity. (DB)

Reviews evidence supporting the use of the Dental Admission Test (DAT) with minority dental school applicants, and finds that the DAT is the best nationally available predictor of success in dental school and that its validity is comparable across different minority groups. (DB)

Comparison of scores on a time management behavior (TMB) scale with academic achievement of 192 predental and dental students found generally high levels of TMB for both groups, but virtually no relationship of TMB dimensions to undergraduate grade point average and only a small relationship between TMB dimensions and first-year dental GPAs. (DB)

Columbia University (New York) dental-school study examined educational/patient care effects of changing from a numerical requirements-driven clinical curriculum to a comprehensive-care model driven by patient needs and led by faculty group leaders. Results suggest a significant increase in number of treatment plans completed by students, with no compromise in number of specific procedures completed by individual students. (Author/MSE)

A study used focus groups to allow students, general-dentistry residents, and dental faculty to discuss issues related to learning to use touch in dental treatment. Analysis of group interactions indicated that learning to touch dental patients was often trial-and-error, and uncomfortable for students. A fine line exists between preventing students from asking for faculty help and faculty from offering assistance. (Author/MSE)

A survey of 319 junior and senior dental students at the University of Missouri, Kansas City assessed the characteristics of students in two programs (traditional and accelerated), and investigated differences in their prior experiences, perceptions of the dental profession and career options, and postgraduate plans. (MSE)

An analysis of the costs of dental education and student debt looks at national health expenditures, their relationship to student costs for dental education, and trends in student indebtedness and professional income. A debt rate rising faster than general economic growth is foreseen, suggesting an unhealthy economic climate for new graduates. (MSE)

Describes the conversion of a conventional didactic course in dental anatomy at the University of Queensland (Australia) into a course in problem-based learning and the resulting effects on learners' autonomy over the first three years of the new course, noting the extent of achievement of course goals, student achievement, and learning style changes. (MSE)

A study compared the performance on a national licensing examination of University of Southern California dental students in problem-based learning (PBL) versus those in conventional educational tracks. PBL track students scored significantly higher in all four discipline-based portions of the exam and also in the aggregate, and scored well in comparison with the performance of dental students nationally. (MSE)

Describes the evolution of methods used in selecting students for the University of Southern California dental school's problem-based learning (PBL) program, discussing changes in policy based on experience over the program's three years. Comparisons are made with admission processes at some other health sciences schools around the world that are implementing PBL. (MSE)

An expert panel, convened by the National Institutes of Health to address concerns about the future of clinical research, describes a training program at the National Institutes of Health that also included dental students. Possible reasons for low application rates among dental students are ascribed to inadequate dissemination of information, high student indebtedness, and low interest in clinical research. (CH)

Evaluates Temple University (Pennsylvania) dental school's five-year (1992-97) plan for development of academic computing, including promotion of faculty computer literacy, student computer literacy, and computer-assisted instruction. All goals except implementation of computer-aided instruction have been met. Findings have implications for the goals of the 1998-2003 plan and for institutional support of academic computing initiatives. (Author/MSE)

A study, using Myers-Briggs Type Indicators, of 256 dental students in four classes found introverted students performed better on the National Dental Board Examinations but had progressively lower class rank over four years and experienced more major academic difficulties. Judging and sensing students had higher rank than perceiving and intuitive students; perceiving students had more difficulties than judging students. (Author/MSE)

Critical forces affecting dental education in general, and the connection between science and practice in particular include shifts in patterns of oral disease; changes in the backgrounds of students entering the dental profession; public skepticism and funding; the response of the dental community to several recent major reports; and managed patient care. Suggestions are made for addressing these issues. (MSE)

A study found that white dental students' (n=144) perceptions of clinical ability, attitudes toward gay men, and white racial attitudes account for both their willingness to provide dental care to patients with HIV disease and their perception of the risk of occupational infection with the disease. Results suggest attitudes regarding cultural diversity can influence clinical interactions. (Author/MSE)

An alternative to traditional solutions to academic cheating is proposed which provides a systematic institutional strategy stressing academic and professional integrity, encourages students to actively ensure academic integrity, and administers swift and fair punishment to violators. Implications are drawn for dental education and development of professionalism among dental students. (MSE)