Predictors of preclinical hand skill performance in dental school.

Context: Preclinical dental school instructors often observe some first-year students develop hand skills required for dental procedures more quickly and more easily than their peers. When questioned regarding prior experience, these advanced students often participated in physical activities that seem to predispose them to adapt their previously learned psychomotor hand skills to those required for dentistry.

Objective: This study examines the results of an Institutional Review Board approved 22-question survey of various lifelong predental school activities and correlations to first-year and second-year simulation clinic practical exam performance.

Prep-Along Facilitated Posterior Crown Preparation in the Preclinical Dental Setting: A Multimedia Approach.

Introduction: Dental students often seek visual aids and demonstrations when attempting to perform new procedures. This video resource provides an adjunctive teaching tool for a crown preparation on an ivorine molar using the "prep-along" method. This method teaches crown preparation in a uniform, step-by-step manner while providing feedback to students after each step.

Comparison of Postbaccalaureate and Baccalaureate Graduates' Performance in First and Second Years of Dental School.

Postbaccalaureate programs help predental students strengthen their basic science knowledge and improve their study skills before applying or reapplying for dental school admission. A high percentage of postbac students are admitted to and graduate from dental schools, but gaining greater understanding of how well these students perform in key areas of the first two years' curriculum would be useful for the design of those programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate postbac dental students' performance in the D1 and D2 years at one U.

Effect of composite warming on shear bond strength.

Several manufacturers produce devices designed to warm composite resins used in restorative dentistry. Previous investigators have examined the effects of heating composite restorative resins prior to placement and polymerization. Heating has been reported to reduce viscosity, improve ease of placement, enhance monomer conversion, and reduce microleakage.

A Comparison of Seven Predental Postbaccalaureate Programs in Gaining Dental School Acceptance for Their Students.

Predental students are often unsuccessful in gaining admission to dental school because of low academic scores. Many of these students are from economically and/or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. Postbaccalaureate and Master's programs provide these students with the opportunity to raise their grade point averages and/or scores on the Dental Admission Test and then apply or reapply for dental school admission.

Using Standardized Patients to Teach Complete Denture Procedures in Second Year of Dental School.

Second-year dental students are commonly instructed on the process of complete denture fabrication with a traditional didactic lecture and preclinical dental laboratory education model. The problem with this limited mode of instruction is that dental students often fail to understand the various chairside procedures required to fabricate a complete denture. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of standardized dental patients to enhance students' understanding of the procedures involved with each appointment in the complete denture process.

Outbreak of Trichinella spiralis infections associated with a wild boar hunted at a game farm in Iowa.

Background: Rates of trichinellosis have declined significantly in the United States due to improved pork production practices and public awareness of the danger of eating raw or undercooked pork. In April 2011, the Minnesota Department of Health received a report of presumptive trichinellosis in a 50-year-old man with a history of wild boar consumption. A public health investigation was initiated.

Realizing the potential of the genome revolution: the genomes to life program.

The systems biology revolution is proceeding along multiple pathways as different science agencies and the private sector have adopted strategies suited to their particular needs and cultures. To meet this challenge, the U.S.