Educational necessities to compensate for faculty shortage.

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate whether senior dental students (4DS) could serve as effective instructors in a two-semester preclinical laboratory course and whether such teaching experience could enhance their interest in academics as a future career. Based on academic performance, five senior students were recruited to serve as instructors in a two-semester morphology/occlusion laboratory course in which ninety-five first-year dental students were enrolled. The first-year students were randomly assigned so that each student was instructed by a faculty member in one semester and a 4DS in the other semester.