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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 purpose of Workshop B was to discuss the implications of this symposium far training of pediatric dental residents and predoctoral dental students, as well as continuing education for general dentists as related to behavior guidance. Participants also considered the implications of the symposium proceedings for practice in terms of informed consent, practice patterns, and provision of information to patients regarding behavior guidance. Workshop B identified a variety of dental educational methodologies used to promote understanding among dentists who provide pediatric dental care to diverse populations. There was a consensus that the indications, use, and documentation of basic behavior guidance techniques need to be defined and clarified by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and disseminated appropriately. Workshop participants called for the development of asynchronous learning activities such as webinars and instructional videos to further educate dental providers treating children and to legitimize the techniques with parents, healthcare providers, and the general public. Major recommendations from the workshop included: 1) solicit, support, and fund research in behavior guidance for diverse populations, 2) clarify best practices for the use and documentation of basic behavior guidance techniques, 3) identify and define new behavior guidance techniques, 4) promote training in motivational interviewing, 5) encourage integration of symposium proceedings throughout dental education curricula, 6) encourage mentorship networks among general dentists treating children and geographically contiguous pediatric dentists, and 7) develop a library of informational videos for parents and the general public about appropriate behavior guidance techniques used when treating children in dental settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a continuing shortage of academic dentists due to myriad factors. However, each graduating class of dental students includes a select group who choose to explore academic positions. It is this group of potential academic dentists that a four-year R25 initiative, funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, has targeted with the intent of increasing their numbers and mentoring them for success in a future faculty position. The aims of the program at the School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, are to target and recruit potential clinician-scientists and to design and implement an Academic Track (AT) that complements existing clinical and research training with the comprehensive skill set of pedagogical, organizational, and personal strategies necessary to be successful in an academic career. Recruitment to the AT targeted candidates from a variety of sources including those enrolled in the dual D.D.S./M.S. and D.D.S./Ph.D. programs, dental residents, Ph.D. candidates in other disciplines, and predental students. Through a variety of professional development activities in the AT, selected students receive teaching, leadership, and mentoring experiences. Outcomes and lessons learned related to specific activities and lessons learned are presented in this article, and a model that recognizes the diverse paths to an academic career in dentistry is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]