Design of a communication skills course in dentistry: Applying active-learning strategies to improve educational outcomes.

Purpose/objective: Effective communication, between patient and dentist, is a core clinical skill that commands dedicated pedagogy similar to that of developing scientific knowledge and psychomotor skills. This study aimed to describe active-learning strategies in a dental communication skills course, which sits within a broader foundation dental course and evaluate students' educational outcomes.

Methods: This is a two-phase retrospective, mono-centred study, completed in 2019 at an Australian dental school.