Teledentistry and its use in dental education

BACKGROUND: Teledentistry is a relatively new field that combines telecommunication technology and dental care. Most dentists and dental educators are unaware that teledentistry can be used not only for increased access to dental care, but also for advanced dental education. TYPE OF STUDIES REVIEWED: The authors describe teledentistry as it is applied worldwide, as well as its uses in education. Teledentistry in education can be divided into two main categories: self-instruction and interactive videoconferencing. Both of these methods have been used in several studies and countries. RESULTS: The type of network connectivity used greatly affects the feasibility of teledentistry education. Furthermore, no optimal type exists, but health care professionals should choose the mode based on budget, geography and technical support available. Of the two main categories of teledentistry in education, the interactive videoconferencing method has had better results because of its ability to provide immediate feedback. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Teledentistry can extend care to underserved patient populations, such as those in rural areas, at a reasonable cost. Teledentistry provides an opportunity to supplement traditional teaching methods in dental education, and will provide new opportunities for dental students and dentists.     

Experience with virtual reality-based technology in teaching restorative dental procedures

This article reports on extensive experience with advanced simulation at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine (UPSDM). Virtual reality-based technology (VRBT) or advanced simulation is currently available for the instruction of dental students in preclinical restorative procedures. UPSDM was one of the first schools in the world to have extensive experience with VRBT technology using an advanced simulation unit (DentSim) from DenX, Ltd. UPSDM's experience consists of several years of research using control and experimental groups, employing students to participate in an investigative project, and using the units for remediation and a supplement to the preclinical laboratory. Currently, all first-year students (Class of 2007 and Class of 2008) are receiving most of their preparative operative training on the VRBT units. UPSDM started with one (beta) version unit in 1998, which was later updated and expanded first to four units and recently to fifteen units. This communication is presenting the studies that were of fundamental importance in making the decision to acquire fifteen units in 2003. The areas of main interest to the SDM concerning this technology were its use in teaching, refreshing, and remediating students in restorative procedures and its effectiveness as a teaching methodology in relation to time, efficiency, and faculty. Several studies with varying parameters were performed at various time points. The limited statistical analysis conducted was not conclusive for all measures, and in some cases the data only suggest areas of possible significance. This is due to the low number of students who could access the limited number of available units and the change of protocols in response to student and faculty input. Overall, the results do suggest, however, that students learn faster, arrive at the same level of performance, accomplish more practice procedures per hour, and request more evaluations per procedure or per hour than in our traditional laboratories. Students' attitudes, as measured by surveys, group interviews, and private interviews, are mixed. Our overall evaluation of our experience with this technology has been positive and led to the purchase of additional units, its full incorporation into our curriculum, and curriculum revision to maximize its potential. Our conclusion is that this technology offers significant potential in the field of dental education and that further use and investigation are both desired and justified.     

Trends in dental and allied dental education

BACKGROUND: Educational programs play an important role in preparing a qualified dental work force. This article reviews the current status and trends in dental, advanced dental and allied dental education programs in the United States and examines their impact on the dental work force. OVERVIEW: This analysis focuses on survey data collected by the American Dental Association during the past 10 to 15 years and compares recent patterns in applications, enrollment and graduation with previous trends. The numbers of educational programs, applicants, enrollees and graduates have increased in dentistry, dental hygiene and dental assisting, while dental laboratory technology has declined in all measures. The proportion of women in dentistry has increased, while the ethnic profile of dental and allied personnel has shown little change. Both the cost of dental education and student debt continue to increase. CONCLUSIONS: Despite increases in the number of educational programs and overall numbers of graduates from dental and allied dental education programs, the proportion of underrepresented groups still lags behind their representation in the overall population, and the number of allied personnel falls short of practice needs. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Patterns in applications, enrollment and graduation are important determinants of the dental and allied dental work force. The cost and funding of education significantly affect the attractiveness of dental careers and the sustainability of educational programs and should be monitored carefully by the profession.     

口腔数字化技术进修教学模式的探索和应用

数字化技术在口腔临床和科研中的应用日益广泛,但目前国内针对口腔数字化技术的本科和研究生教学尚未普及,毕业后教育的需求较大。北京大学口腔医学院在既往多年口腔数字化技术教学的实践基础上,初步探索了一套理论教学和实践教学相结合的三阶段渐进式口腔数字化技术进修教学模式,并结合个性化的进修培养方案,实现以临床和科研为导向的高水平口腔数字化软、硬件应用能力骨干人才培养。该进修培养模式在一定程度上弥补了国内口腔数字化技术进修教育领域的空白,是我国口腔数字化技术专业人才多元化培养的有益探索,有助于推动我国口腔数字化技术临床应用和科研的发展。     

Dental caries process.

The boundaries of caries diagnosis and caries intervention are changing. Dentists currently use visual, tactical, and radiographic information to detect relatively advanced changes in the dental hard tissues. The clinical management of dental caries has been primarily directed at the treatment of the consequences of the disease process by placing restorations and not at curing the disease. Using emerging technology, dentists will be able to detect incipient dental caries (demineralization) at an earlier stage than the clinically visible white spot. Dental caries is a dynamic process, which in its early stages is reversible and even in its more advanced stages can be arrested. The widespread use of fluoride has dramatically reduced the prevalence of dental caries and the rate of the progression of carious lesions. These changes permit dentists to adopt more conservative management strategies directed at the prevention and cure of dental caries.     

Globalization in the dental practice: a perspective from down under

Dental education and practice in Australia and New Zealand are described by a dental dean who has practiced in South Africa, Canada, and Australia. Education is based on the English model, being a five-year program with entry from high school. Variations are being attempted on this approach, with an increasing number of dental students entering with advanced education, multiple degree alternatives, and combinations of auxiliaries including hygienists, therapists, and prosthetists. Dental boards do not examine dental graduates for licensure or actively investigate substandard skill levels or compromised practitioners. Practice is open to dentists trained in other countries based on service in needy areas and a two-part examination process. Specialty licensure is obtained based on examination by the national Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons and advanced education normally leads to a degree, including an additional doctoral degree. The most challenging issues facing oral health in Australia and New Zealand remain workforce shortages, especially in remote rural areas, and the cost of dental education.     

From information technology to informatics: the information revolution in dental education

The capabilities of information technology (IT) have advanced precipitously in the last fifty years. Many of these advances have enabled new and beneficial applications of IT in dental education. However, conceptually, IT use in dental schools is only in its infancy. Challenges and opportunities abound for improving how we support clinical care, education, and research with IT. In clinical care, we need to move electronic dental records beyond replicating paper, connect information on oral health to that on systemic health, facilitate collaborative care through teledentistry, and help clinicians apply evidence-based dentistry and preventive management strategies. With respect to education, we should adopt an evidence-based approach to IT use for teaching and learning, share effective educational content and methods, leverage technology-mediated changes in the balance of power between faculty and students, improve technology support for clinical teaching, and build an information infrastructure centered on learners and organizations. In research, opportunities include reusing clinical care data for research studies, helping advance computational methods for research, applying generalizable research tools in dentistry, and reusing research data and scientific workflows. In the process, we transition from a focus on IT-the mere technical aspects of applying computer technology-to one on informatics: the what, how, and why of managing information.     

Continuity and change mark seventy-five years of progress for the Journal of Dental Education

This historical overview of the Journal of Dental Education highlights its founding by and close seventy-five connec-tion with its parent organization, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). In 1936, the leadership of the American Association of Dental Schools, the predecessor of ADEA, recognized the need for a journal that would keep the new profession of academic dentistry dynamic by providing a means for communicating ideas and new teaching methods. While holding to that mission, the journal has evolved over the years in parallel with ADEA--especially in the twenty-first century with the expansion of both to include allied, dental, and advanced dental education and to address core issues of curriculum change through ADEA's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI). Across its history, the journal has actively supported the mission of ADEA by advancing scholarship in dental education. Its past achievements have now set the stage for the journal's next incarnation as a leading global voice in the broader realm of health professions education.     

虚拟现实技术在牙种植领域的应用与发展前景

虚拟现实(VR)技术是一门涉及多领域高端发展成果的新兴学科。VR在医学的应用是现代医学发展的方向之一,是目前世界范围内的研究热点。口腔种植学作为20世纪60年代来口腔修复领域发展最迅速的学科,亦是以多学科先进研究成果的交叉应用为其主要特征。本文对VR技术在牙种植领域的应用与发展前景进行综述。     

Current status, crisis and trends in Chinese dental technicians

Background: Chinese dental technicians play a significant role in the globalised market of dental prosthesis fabrication, but this subject has not been investigated in detail. The demand for dental prostheses increases as individuals pay increasing attention to their oral health. Therefore, it is important to investigate the status of Chinese dental technicians. Objective: To evaluate the current status of Chinese dental technicians. Methods: Dental technicians’ resumés, which reveal information regarding dental technician manpower, degrees, working age and salary, etc., were analysed and compared with those abroad. We also estimated the future demands of dental technician manpower, and discussed some potential solutions. Results: There are fewer dental technicians in China than in other developed countries; they are also of a lower standard. Male technicians outnumber females. The education level of technicians is insufficient, and the education programme is still in its exploratory stage. Conclusions: The development of dental technician teams in China represents both an opportunity and a challenge. It is important to move forward from the current situation to yield long‐term development. This article provides information on the Chinese dental technology industry, identifies the problems and offers solutions for its development.     

Building the minority faculty development pipeline

The shortage of faculty in dental education is well documented, but the data also show a shortage of minorities in postgraduate programs, which develop future faculty. In the last ten years, ADEA's effort to address minority issues in dental education has made some progress. In addition, examples of pipelines for minority faculty development that have shown some success include: a partnership between Harlem Hospital and Columbia University School of Dentistry and Oral Surgery in which the school dedicates one position in its postgraduate training programs to an individual participating in the Harlem Hospital General Practice Residency program; a partnership between the National Dental Association Foundation and Colgate-Palmolive Company, which provides scholarships for advanced dental education study; and the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center Department of Dentistry, which enrolls underrepresented minorities in its General Practice Residency Program, a new Pediatric Dentistry Residency Program, and a unique program providing hands-on experience in HIV/AIDS health care policy and AIDS development management. Critical elements in the relative success of these programs are environment, selection criteria, mentoring, networking, and finance. The true measure of the outcomes is still to be seen.     

Information technology in dental education

The use of information technology in dental education is continually increasing. In this article, IT is defined, and its uses in teaching and learning explored. Examples of the appropriateness of multimedia teaching in dental education are given. Successful multimedia teaching, especially in clinical settings, relies on the proper use of IT and an implementation strategy. The applications of IT to curriculum development, computer-assisted learning (CAL), educational administration, dental practice, hospital administration, and clinical research are also considered.     

Dental school faculty and the academic environment from 1936 to 2011: familiar features in a new context

From its first issue in 1936 until today, no subject has been more central to the work published in the Journal of Dental Education (JDE) and to dental education itself than the dental school faculty. William Gies's vision in 1926 of the professionalization of dental educators was key to the professionalization of dental education. His focus on the need to develop these teachers as both instructors and researchers established the model by which a "dental educator" became a distinct professional, different from a dentist who happens to teach. This article for the seventy-fifth anniversary issue of the JDE thus starts from the obvious but not always acknowledged point that faculty members are central to the entire enterprise of dental education and relate to change over time as both cause and effect. Whether the profession today is evolving to incorporate new science and curricular models or becoming more interprofessional or meeting the needs of diverse patient populations or adopting new educational methodologies and technologies, developments in these areas will have a direct impact on the way individual faculty members do their jobs. To give a taste of the rich variety published over the past seventy-five years, the first section touches briefly on three significant types of research regarding faculty as exemplified by articles published in the JDE. These three are faculty development, educational methodologies, and faculty recruitment and retention. The second section addresses an increasingly important area of research: faculty members' perceptions of the academic work environment. After considering some trends that will affect this environment over the next decade, the article concludes with additional reasons the JDE is a valuable resource for faculty members in dental schools and allied and advanced dental education programs.     

Advancement of women in dental education: expanding opportunities, enriching the pool

In the recent past, we have seen both the dental student applicant and enrollment pools of women in the United States increase. There has been an increase in both women applicants and first-year enrollees from the year 2000. The advancement of women in advanced educational programs and into dental faculty positions has likewise seen a trend of increase. The challenge to dental education is to ensure that the recruitment and advancement of women to careers in dental education and research in the future are consistent with their talent, expertise, and career expectations. Within this pool of women are our future leaders, deans, and researchers. As we consider future faculty needs for all dental faculty members, we must consider the unique needs of women who must balance their careers with other societal demands related to their gender.     

Trends in allied dental education: an analysis of the past and a look to the future.

Allied dental healthcare providers have been an integral part of the dental team since the turn of the 19th century. Like dental education, allied dental education's history includes a transition from apprenticeships and proprietary school settings to dental schools and community and technical colleges. There are currently 258 dental assisting programs, 255 dental hygiene programs, and 28 dental laboratory technology programs according to the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation. First-year enrollment increased 9.5 percent in dental hygiene education from 1994/95 to 1998/99, while enrollment in dental assisting programs declined 7 percent and declined 31 percent in dental laboratory technology programs during the same period. Program capacity exceeds enrollment in all three areas of allied dental education. Challenges facing allied dental education include addressing the dental practicing community's perception of a shortage of dental assistants and dental hygienists and increasing pressure for career tracks that do not require education in ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation accredited programs. The allied dental workforce may also be called upon for innovative approaches to improve access to oral health care and reduce oral health care disparities. In addition, allied dental education programs may face challenges in recruiting faculty with the desired academic credentials. ADEA is currently pursuing initiatives in these and other areas to address the current and emerging needs of allied dental education.     

Theoretical and practical considerations for the development of online international collaborative learning for dental hygiene students

Abstract:  Globalization and concurrent development in computer and communication technology has increased interest in collaborative online teaching and learning for students in higher education institutions. Many institutions and teachers have introduced computer-supported programmes in areas including dental hygiene. The potential for the use of this technology is exciting; however, its introduction should be careful and considered. We suggest that educators wanting to introduce computer-supported programmes make explicit their pedagogical principles and then select technologies that support and exploit these principles. This paper describes this process as it was applied to the development of an international web-based collaborative learning programme for dental hygiene students.     

振动噪声测试技术对拆冠器拆冠的实验测试

目的：探讨振动噪声测试技术在口腔医学中的应用。方法：用振动噪声测试技术对拆冠器拆冠操作进行力学测试并对整个过程实施监测。结果：动态测试拆冠操作过程中冲击力产生的时域分析波形为典型间接应变电波,冲击力越大,拆冠器与实验全冠,基牙作用时间就越长,反之越短。结论：振动噪声测试技术手段先进、灵敏度高,是口腔器械与口内硬组织及共之间冲击力测试有效、可靠的技术手段,在口腔生理、病理及诊断处理上有着广泛的应用前景。     

Establishing dental hygiene education in Germany: current facts and future perspectives

Abstract:   As there is a marked need to increase the number of dental hygienists (DHs) working in German dental practices, efforts are being made to establish dental hygiene education in accordance with international standards. However, as current German legislation does not envisage a perennial full-time training programme, dental hygiene education may currently be provided within a modular concept only. The basic qualification for enrolment in a modular hygienist training programme of this kind is accredited vocational training as a dental assistant (DA), followed by board-certified continuing education as an oral prophylaxis assistant. Thus, the current system of advanced training for qualification as a DH is subject to at least 6 years' work experience in the field of dentistry. A 950-h full-time advanced training course, meeting all the requirements of this concept, was established by the Westphalia–Lippe Dental Association in cooperation with the University of Münster. The curriculum underlying this programme was outlined considering the recommendations for dental hygiene education issued by the European Federation of Periodontology, although reduced in standards to comply with current German legislation. In addition, the recommendations for American Dental Hygiene education by the American Dental Association were used as a guide for programme development. The contents and implementation of the Münster Dental Hygienist Curriculum may allow the professional competence generated during practical work experience to be linked with international requirements of dental hygiene education.     

Education of dentists in Thailand

Thailand is geographically located in southeast Asia and its population is 63 million. Little has been published on dental education in Thailand. This paper provides information about Thailand regarding its dental history, dental school system including curriculum and dental licensure. There are eight public and one private dental school in Thailand. A six-year dental education leads to the DDS degree. On graduation from the public dental schools, dentists are required to work in the public system for three years. Currently, there are approximately 8000 active dentists, with a dentist: population ratio of approximately 1:7000.     

Dental Public Health for the 21st Century: Implications for Specialty Education and Practice

A panel of public health practitioners sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration met December 6–8, 1994, to examine current roles and responsibilities for dental public health workers and to recommend changes in education and training to meet challenges posed by an evolving health care system. Overall, at least the same number, if not more, dental public health personnel will be needed in the future. While some new roles were identified, the panel felt that only small numbers of personnel will be needed to fill these new roles. Not all of these roles necessarily require a dental degree. The panel felt that a need exists for more academicians for dental schools, schools of public health, dental public health residencies, and dental hygiene programs; oral epidemiologists and health services researchers; health educators; and specialists in utilization review/outcomes assessment, dental informatics, nutrition, program evaluation, and prevention. To meet these personnel needs: (1) dental public health residency programs should be structured to meet the educational needs of working public health dentists with MPH degrees through on-the-job residency programs; (2) the standards for advanced specialty education programs in dental public health should be made sufficiently flexible to include dentists who have advanced education and the requisite core public health courses; (3) flexible MPH degree programs must be available because of the rising debt of dental students and the decreased numbers of graduating dentists; (4) loan repayment should be available for dentists who have pursued public health training and are working in state or local health departments; and (5) standards for advanced education in dental public health should be developed for dental hygienists.