Search

Introduction: Continuing professional development is a lifelong learning process. One pedagogical approach that can be used is active learning. Flipped classroom is a method that has been shown to improve deeper conceptual understanding. In an online setting, the method saves travel, time, and costs. To our knowledge, flipped classroom is rarely used in continuing professional education. This study in general dentistry explored experiences of an online flipped classroom course in continuing professional development. Materials and Methods: Fifteen dental hygienists, clinically active in general dental care, were interviewed. They were recruited from an online course on the latest classification system for periodontal diseases. The course had been conducted using an active learning and flipped classroom model. The interviews were semi‐structured. Data were extracted using qualitative content analysis. Results: The experiences of the dental hygienists could be summarized in three themes: Stimulation of knowledge gain through self‐paced studies, The ease of virtual networking among colleagues, and Fostering of direct practical application through collaboration. Conclusion: New and emerging communication technology seems to open new possibilities for continuing professional development in general dentistry. Study participants felt that, in an online environment, mixing asynchronous and synchronous communication in a flipped classroom model facilitated learning in continuing professional development. Online active learning seems to work well in continuous professional development in general dentistry. After the course, the participating dental hygienists stated that they were able to use their new knowledge clinically and felt confident doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate attitudes and preferred therapy choice for first permanent molars (FPM) with Molar-Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH). Methods: An online questionnaire was sent out to general dentists (n = 559) working in the Public Dental Service in Region Västra Götaland, orthodontists (n = 293), and pediatric dentists (n = 156) (members from each interest association), in Sweden. The questionnaire contained three parts: general questions regarding the respondents, patient cases, and general questions regarding extraction of FPMs with MIH. Statistics were carried out using Chi-squared tests, with a significance level of 5%. Results: A response rate of 36% was obtained. Orthodontists and pediatric dentists were more prone to extract FPMs with both moderate and severe MIH, compared to general dentists. When restoring FPMs with moderate MIH, resin composite was preferred. Compared to the general dentists, the pediatric dentists were more prone to choose glass-ionomer cement in the FPMs with severe MIH. The most common treatment choice for FPMs with mild MIH was fluoride varnish. "When root furcation is under development of the second permanent molar on radiographs" was chosen as the optimal time for extracting FPMs with severe MIH, and the general dentists based their treatment decisions on recommendations from a pediatric dentist. Conclusion: Extraction of FPMs with moderate and severe MIH is considered a therapy of choice among general dentists and specialists, and the preferred time of extraction is before the eruption of the second permanent molar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

St. Lukas Voino-Yasenetsky, was a great personality of the medical and ecclesiastical field, in the last century in the Soviet Union (USSR). Today, in the now independent states of the former USSR, his memory continues to be indelible, as a Holy man, who excelled as a great surgeon, university teacher, researcher and hierarch. In this paper, a reference is made to the contribution of St. Lukas in matters related to General Dentistry, through a selective review of his university thesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.

The goal of restoring caries lesions is to protect the pulp, prevent progression of the disease process, and restore the form and function of the tooth. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the effect of different direct restorative materials for treating cavitated caries lesions on anterior and posterior primary and permanent teeth. The authors included parallel and split-mouth randomized controlled trials comparing the effectiveness of direct restorative materials commercially available in the United States placed in vital, nonendodontically treated primary and permanent teeth. Pairs of reviewers independently conducted study selection, data extraction, and assessments of risk of bias and certainty of the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. The authors conducted pair-wise meta-analyses to summarize the evidence and calculated measures of association and their 95% CIs. Thirty-eight randomized controlled trials were eligible for analysis, which included data on Class I and Class II restorations on primary teeth and Class I, Class II, Class III, Class V, and root surface restorations on permanent teeth. Included studies assessed the effect of amalgam, resin composite, compomer, conventional glass ionomer cement, resin-modified glass isomer cement, and preformed metal crowns. Moderate to very low certainty evidence suggested varying levels of effectiveness across restorative materials. Owing to a relatively low event rate across various outcomes indicating restoration failure, there was limited evidence to support important differences between direct restorative materials used in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between dentists and physical therapists (PT) could improve access to patient treatment and oral care outcomes. This study aimed to assess dentists' knowledge, attitudes, and awareness of IPC with PT., Methods: The study design included a 16-question online survey sent to dentists (n = 102) at a university in fall 2022 via SurveyMonkey. This survey evaluated dentists' knowledge of PT services and IPC referrals, awareness of PT IPC improving oral health and continuing education (CE) opportunities, and attitudes toward team care. Statistical analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Chi-squared tests., Results: Participants included general dentists (71.2%) and dental specialists (28.8%), with experience ranging from 1-5 years through 55+ years. Gender distribution included approximately 46.2% female and 53.8% male, with a survey response rate of 51.0% (n = 52). Females reported a significantly higher interest in PT IPC (p = 0.016) and referring (p = 0.022) than males. Dentists in practice for 21-40 years reported significantly higher participation in CE referral courses compared to other groups (p = 0.011). Compared to dental specialists, general dentists had a significantly more positive attitude when asked if dental collaboration with PT and physicians is equally important (p = 0.001). Additionally, 78.8% of respondents reported interest in attending a CE course on interprofessional education., Conclusions: This study demonstrated dentists' limited awareness of the PT interprofessional collaborative approach. Females and general dentists reported higher positive attitudes toward PT IPC relationships. Most dentists were interested in attending additional IPC training., (© 2024 American Dental Education Association.)

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.