Next Generation of Allied Dental Practitioners: An Analysis of the ADEA 2024 Survey of Graduating Allied Dental Students.

Purpose/objectives: This study examines the journey of accredited US allied dental programs' graduating students of 2024. It covers the factors that influenced their decision to pursue an allied dental career, key elements of their program experiences, their postgraduation plans, and the investments they made to embark on an allied oral health professional journey. This is the first national study conducted by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) to gather direct feedback from US graduating allied dental students.

The 2022 ADEA Climate Study in U.S. and Canadian Dental Schools and Allied Dental Programs: Methodological Considerations.

January 28, 2025: This article published in Early View in error. This article is under embargo and will republish in April.

Benefits and challenges of the integration of haptics-enhanced virtual reality training within dental curricula.

Background: Haptics-enhanced virtual reality (VR-haptic) simulation in dental education has evolved considerably during the past decade, representing a promising resource of simulation-based training opportunities to support conventional practice. We aim to summarize current literature on the applications of VR-haptics in learning, practicing, and teaching dental education.

Methods: A literature search was performed using PubMed, focusing on research articles published between January 2010 and January 2024.

The Baccalaureate-Educated Dental Hygienist.

Unlabelled: The baccalaureate degree as entry level education will prepare dental hygienists to meet the basic challenges of evolving patient oral health care needs.

Background: The nature of health care is changing because of economic and societal developments. For example, the Affordable Care Act is allowing more individuals the opportunity to seek care.

Point-of-care HbA1c screening predicts diabetic status of dental patients.

Purpose: Mutual production of proinflammatory cytokines causes a deleterious cyclic relationship between uncontrolled diabetes and periodontal disease. The prevalence of diabetes is escalating out of control. Early detection of pre-diabetes and diabetes may respectively prevent or delay disease onset and eliminate or decrease complications.

Dental Team Experience (DTE): a five year experience.

Several European countries have interprofessional training for health care professional students, including dental and dental hygiene students. However, very little training exists in the U.S.

Development and status of the advanced dental hygiene practitioner.

Advanced dental hygiene practitioners (ADHPs), members of the oral health care team, bring care to persons disenfranchised from adequate dental services. ADHPs are licensed and provide the traditional educational, preventive and therapeutic dental hygiene services, plus diagnostic, prescriptive and minimally invasive restorative services. ADHPs work in collaboration with all members of the dental team, referring patients in need of services outside of their scope directly to dentists or other health care providers.