Predoctoral Dental Education in Tooth Prognosis and Treatment Complexity: A Survey of U.S. Dental Schools.

J Dent Educ

Aram Kim is Instructor, Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine; Fiorella Candamo is an AEGD resident, Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center; Alvin G. Wee is Professor and Director, Division of Prosthodontics, Department of Restorative Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry; Judy Chia-Chun Yuan is Associate Professor, Department of Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago; and Lily T. Garcia is Professor and Associate Dean for Education, The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics.

Published: October 2019

The aim of this study was to determine the educational methods and tools used to teach tooth prognosis and treatment complexity determination in U.S. predoctoral dental programs. In 2018, an online survey was emailed to the academic deans of all 66 accredited U.S. dental schools. Of these, 42 schools responded (63.6%), and 36 schools completed the entire survey (54.5%). The methods reported for teaching tooth prognosis and case complexity determination varied widely among the participating schools. Among the respondents, 25% reported using the American Association of Endodontists' Endodontic Case Difficulty Assessment, while 10% reported having no specific method for teaching prognosis. The most common method for teaching overall treatment complexity was the Prosthodontic Diagnostic Index, which was used by 24% of the respondents. However, another 24% reported that their school did not have a specific method for teaching treatment complexity. Large percentages of the respondents reported that students sometimes or often made wrong tooth prognosis and case complexity determination (90% and 92%, respectively). The most prominent feedback provided by the respondents based on their experience was the importance of faculty standardization, the understanding of students' inexperience, and the need for an interdisciplinary approach. The majority of these respondents reported that their schools had specific methods of teaching prognosis and case complexity determination. However, there was a wide range of teaching practices related to the contents and levels of evidence.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.21815/JDE.019.122DOI Listing

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