[From the history of domestic dentistry: Moscow Dental School of the Privat-docent of Moscow University, MD Gilyariy Ivanovich Vilga]. / Iz istorii otechestvennoi stomatologii: Moskovskaya zubovrachebnaya shkola privat-dotsenta Moskovskogo universiteta doktora meditsiny Gilyariya Ivanovicha Vil'ga.

Based on archival data, the authors describe the Moscow School of Dentistry with dental courses for doctors, dentists, and dentists of the Moscow University, Privat-docent Dr. Gilyari Ivanovich Vilga, examine the background to its formation, provide unique archival data on the location of the school, as well as its internal organization and equipment. The authors review in detail the program of courses, as well as their duration, cost, and form of student accountability. During its existence (1909-1918), more than two thousand dentists were educated at G.I. Vilg's school, among them Alexander Ivanovich Evdokimov, a future corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, director of the State Institute of Dentistry (GIZ) and the State Institute of Dentistry and Odontology (GIZO). The authors of the article also focus on analyzing the differences in the approaches to the organization of several dental schools, viz: The First Moscow I.M. Kovarsky School of Dentistry and the Second G.I. Vilga School of Dentistry. In his efforts, I.M. Kovarskij's aspirations to establish the best dental school in Russia were crowned with success: a specially constructed and equipped building meeting the state-of-the-art requirements (the building even boasted an X-ray machine), and the best professors and instructors of the University of Moscow of that time were hired. In contrast, G.I. Vilga rented premises for his school, the equipment was in short supply, and he himself was the only eminent professor. Nevertheless, his fierce desire to unite the entire dental community and organize the best dental care for the entire population of Russia allowed his brainchild to enter the top five schools of the time.

[Touches to the portrait of I.M. Kovarsky]. / Shtrikhi k portretu I.M. Kovarskogo.

Ilya Matveyevich Kovarsky (1856-1933) - the founder and permanent head of the First Moscow Dentistry School, organizer and honorary member of the Moscow Dentistry Society, editor and publisher of one of the first Russian dental journals «Odontological Revue¼ - was deprived of his personal pension and suffrage in 1930 as a former owner of a private capitalist enterprise; his name was actually erased from the national dentistry. The portrait of Ilya Matveyevich Kovarsky - a remarkable doctor, teacher and worthy man - is reconstructed by the documents preserved in the Kovarsky family archive (on the basis of which this article was written) and the memories of his eldest daughter (published for the first time).

Patient perceptions of the readability and helpfulness of bilingual clinical forms: a survey study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) are rarely provided with translated clinical materials. Typically, healthcare clinics cite high costs of translation and lack of professional translators as barriers to this service. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the perceptions of LEP dental patients regarding the readability, understanding, and helpfulness of translated clinical forms produced by dental student doctor translators. METHODS: We used a survey design and convenience sampling to recruit LEP patients from a dental school clinic. Participants completed a 9-question (8 Likert-type items and 1 open-ended item) paper survey about translated forms. The bilingual survey was a combination of English and 8 other languages (Arabic, Dari, Pashto, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Urdu, or Vietnamese) and assessed the type of form received; self-reported literacy; design, readability, and helpfulness of the form; overall understanding of the form; understanding of medical and dental terms; helpfulness for patient-provider communication; and comfort level with dental care after receiving the form. Demographic characteristics of participants were collected from the clinic's electronic health record. Survey responses were analyzed descriptively, and Spearman's correlation was used to examine the relationship between outcomes. RESULTS: Ninety-seven LEP patients (61.9% [60] female, 78.4% [70] Spanish speakers) completed 140 surveys for various translated forms in Dari, Pashto, Spanish, Urdu, or Vietnamese. Participants positively rated translated clinical forms: range, 50.4% (70) for design of the form to 80.0% (112) for comfort level with dental care after receiving the form. For the open-ended item, participants indicated the translations were good, and no improvements were needed. They also thought providing the form was evidence of good customer service. When examining relationships between outcomes, positive correlations were found between self-reported literacy and readability (Spearman r = .57, P < .001), overall understanding and understanding of medical and dental terms (Spearman r = .58, P < .001), and type of form and helpfulness for patient-provider communication (Spearman r = .26, P = .005). CONCLUSIONS: Study results suggested the translated clinical forms were perceived as helpful and beneficial by LEP dental patients. Similar approaches should be considered to reduce language barriers in healthcare.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Web-Based Modules on Human Papillomavirus Among Dental and Dental Hygiene Students.

Literature suggests that deficiencies among dental professional students in both knowledge and awareness of human papillomavirus (HPV) and its association with oropharyngeal cancers (OPC), as well as its risk factors implicating the prevalence of HPV, may be due to the lack of HPV-related education during professional schooling. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an online learning tool to educate dental and dental hygiene students about HPV and its association with OPC, rapidly evolving disease patterns, and dental professionals' role in HPV-associated OPC prevention efforts. A three-section online learning module was developed to improve dental professionals' comfort levels with, and knowledge of, HPV. The participants were recruited to participate in surveys before and after the intervention. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were computed to study the effectiveness of the modules in improving the knowledge of students about this topic. Pre-intervention survey participants totaled 142, and 107 participants answered the post-intervention survey. The majority of the study participants had some baseline understanding of HPV prior to accessing the modules. After reviewing the modules, there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of respondents who identified OPC (p = 0.01), vaginal cancer (0.02), vulvar cancer (0.04), and penile cancer (0.01) as associated with HPV. A gap in the understanding of HPV vaccine-eligible groups was noted in almost half of the participants; while most participants could correctly identify that boys and girls aged 9-12 years were eligible to get the vaccine, the gap in knowledge in this regard was related to "25-year-old with an abnormal pap result." Due to the evolving nature of this topic, there is a need to find new and effective methods of disseminating HPV-related information among the existing and future dental workforce.

Dental students' knowledge of and attitudes towards prescribing medication in Western Australia.

INTRODUCTION: Dentists can prescribe medications for prophylactic and therapeutic purposes. In Australia, dental graduates can autonomously practise within the scope of their qualifications without needing to undertake an internship post-graduation. Although previous research has identified knowledge gaps amongst dental students in Australia on pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutic knowledge, there has been no published research that qualitatively highlights dental students' knowledge of medication prescribing in Australia. This study aimed to undertake a qualitative analysis of Western Australian dental students' attitudes towards and knowledge of medication prescribing. METHODS: This qualitative case study design employed semi-structured interviews as means of collecting data. It utilised a purposive sampling in penultimate and final year dental students at the University of Western Australia. RESULTS: Twenty dental students participated in the study. Five key themes were identified in the data: current and previous education, application when delivering pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics, teaching to ensure patient-centred care, supervision and referral to relevant resources. Participants agreed that having previous knowledge in the area provides students with confidence regarding medication prescribing. Furthermore, students in this study valued having guidance when prescribing medications. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the complexity of medication prescribing for dental students. It also highlights their experience with the current pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics curriculum. All students interviewed valued application-based teaching, making it specific to dentistry. If curriculum were to be redeveloped, considering their perceptions may be a valuable tool.

Investigating periodontal diagnosis and treatment at one dental school.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether patients at one dental education institution received appropriate care based on their periodontal diagnosis in a timely manner. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used a retrospective design to evaluate data from July 2018 to February 2020. The patient records were screened to determine whether patients received a periodontal diagnosis, whether the diagnosis followed the 2018 AAP Classification Guidelines, and if appropriate preventive and therapeutic procedures were completed in a timely manner. In addition, the type or year of dental student providing the procedure was also recorded. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a Chi-squared test. RESULTS: A total of 612 charts were generated for review and 157 met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated. Results revealed that more than half (56.7%) of the patient records did not demonstrate a periodontal diagnosis and another 10.8% did not follow current AAP Classification Guidelines. Most patients (n = 125, 79.6%) had a comprehensive periodontal assessment performed, while 32 (20.4%) had no comprehensive periodontal charting information recorded. Further, of the 157 records reviewed, 96 (61.1%) had no periodontal treatment specified. A statistically significant difference with a modest association was found between type of dental student and year based on periodontal diagnosis (Fisher's exact test value = 20.72, p = .001, Cramer's V = 0.25). CONCLUSION: Documentation of key clinical information, diagnostic conclusions, and treatment rendered requires curriculum review. Further studies are warranted to determine whether similar findings exist among other dental school education programs.

Comparison of student and faculty interviewers using ratings data for admissions decisions.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations of cognitive and noncognitive dental school admission factors with interview ratings provided by faculty and student interviewers. METHODS: Interviewees for the 2019-2021 admissions cycles underwent a 90-minute period consisting of two 45-min interviews and received two interview scores ranging from 1.0 to 2.3. Regression models were utilised to evaluate factors associated with interviewer type and admission status, The correlation strength between faculty and student interview scores was assessed. RESULTS: A total of 177 applicants were interviewed, and 69 students were admitted over two admission cycles. Admitted students received higher interview ratings compared with nonadmitted applicants after adjusting for cognitive and noncognitive admission factors (average difference = -0.068; 95% CI = -0.123, -0.014). No statistically significant relationship was found between any cognitive admissions factor and interview score. However, having prior leadership role experiences was associated with better faculty score, after adjusting for student interviewee score. There was a strong linear correlation (r = .92) between faculty and student interview scores, with 0.809 change in faculty score with each additional student interview score (95% CI = 0.735, 0.883). CONCLUSION: The relationship between faculty and student scores was linear and strongly correlated, suggesting that faculty and student interviewers were comparable in their interview scoring. Leadership experience and potential could be advantageous qualities that improve faculty interviewer ratings. However, having a mix of faculty and Student interviewers may promote evaluation of candidates from different aspects, as students are familiar with the learning environment in dental school and may provide a unique perspective on an applicant's background and suitability for the program.

[Notes on historical connection between the first Moscow dental school of Dr. I.M. Kovarsky and Moscow State Medical and Dental University named after A.I. Evdokimov]. / Ob istoricheskoi svyazi mezhdu Pervoi moskovskoi zubovrachebnoi shkoloi doktora I.M. Kovarskogo i Moskovskim gosudarstvennym mediko-stomatologicheskim universitetom im. A.I. Evdokimova.

Numerous attempts have been made in the periodical publications on the history of «Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry named after A.I. Evdokimov¼ to trace its roots back to the First Moscow Dentistry School. founded by I.M. Kovarsky in 1892, as the State Institute of Dentistry (which, as a result of various reorganizations had been renamed as MSMSU) was established in the school building. This reasoning does not seem entirely convincing, however, after analyzing some facts from the history of the First Moscow School of Dentistry and biography of its founder I.M. Kovarsky, the authors conclude that there is a historical connection between these educational institutions.

The objectives and instructional design of undergraduate endodontic program: multicenter cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Identify the objectives and the instructional design of undergraduate endodontics in dental schools in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: The online questionnaire was developed from an original survey conducted in the United Kingdom. The questionnaire was modified for purpose of the study and the region of interest. Then it was directed and emailed to the undergraduate endodontic program directors in twenty-six dental schools in Saudi Arabia. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS: The response rate was 96.15%. The number of credit hours for preclinical endodontic courses was up to four credit hours (84%). Students were clinically trained to do vital pulp therapies (92%), root canal treatment (100%), and root canal retreatment (68%). The majority of dental schools define the minimum clinical requirements (92%). Practical and clinical competency exams were used to evaluate students' performance (92% and 84% respectively). The students were trained to treat cases of minimal (52%) to moderate complexity (48%). Endodontic treatment consent and difficulty assessment form were used by 32% and 60% of dental schools respectively. There was no significant difference in the instructional design between public and private dental schools (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The endodontic undergraduate objectives were to graduate competent clinicians who acquired basic science of endodontics and who know their limitations as it is necessary for a safe general dental practice. The use of endodontic treatment consent and case difficulty assessment should be wisely considered in clinical training.

Brazilian dental students and COVID-19: A survey on knowledge and perceptions.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the knowledge and perceptions of Brazilian dental students about COVID-19 and the undergraduate clinical practice during the COVID-19 outbreak by a self-administered Web-based questionnaire. METHODS: A social network campaign on Instagram was raised to approach the target population. The survey covered demographic and academic profile, general knowledge, preventive measures and perception about COVID-19. Descriptive statistics were used to identify frequencies and distributions of variables, which were compared by type of institution and current year of enrolment using the Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests (α = 0.05). RESULTS: A total of 833 valid responses were received over 10 days. Students were able to identify the incubation period, main symptoms and contagious routes of the disease but struggled in recognising the name of the virus responsible for the pandemic. Hand washing before and after a dental appointment with a patient (97.7%) followed by the use of barriers to protect mucosa (97.2%) were the more frequently recognised measures to prevent COVID-19 spread in the dental office. As for the perception of COVID-19, 73.2% of the dental students perceived the disease as severe, whilst only 11.1% of them thought that COVID-19 is severe only for people presenting risk factors. Dental student's knowledge and perception were associated with the type of institution and year of enrolment. CONCLUSION: In summary, the dental students demonstrated an acceptable general knowledge about COVID-19, but dental schools will need to address gaps in knowledge, preventive measures, and perceptions to ensure a safer return to in person activities.

Clinical decision-making in complex endodontic cases between postgraduate students across dental specialties at a UK dental school: A pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Treatment decisions for a heavily restored endodontically treated tooth vary amongst clinicians owing to multitude of factors. This phenomenon not only often poses dilemmas to clinicians of different clinical backgrounds, but also exerts a degree of treatment difficulty to the treating clinician. Previous studies indicated that specialty training and clinical experience significantly impacted clinical decision-making process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Master of Science postgraduate students in endodontics, prosthodontics, periodontics, oral surgery and implantology participated in a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The dental specialties were further categorised into restorative and surgical dentistry. A multiple-choice questionnaire with three clinical cases was distributed to the students. Data were analysed for trends using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: There was a 44% response rate; the majority of respondents were from restorative dentistry specialties. Cases 1 and 2 were rated as moderate to high difficulty, and Case 3 was predominantly rated as high difficulty with procedure predictability being the main factor affecting their clinical decision-making in three cases. Endodontic retreatment was selected as the preferred treatment in Cases 1 and 2 and periradicular surgery in Case 3. The students were fairly confident in managing Cases 1 and 2, but not in Case 3. Referral patterns were consistent in Cases 1 and 2 with endodontists being the first choice of referral except for Case 3 where 48% preferred to refer to oral surgeons and 35% choosing endodontists. Some indication of differences between specialties were noted throughout. Years in practice appeared to be related to the importance of predictability in Case 3 only. CONCLUSION: Considerable inter-clinician variability was noted whereby specialty postgraduate training impacted on clinical decision-making. Overall, procedural predictability, technical difficulty, risk of damage to the tooth and patient preference were the most highly ranked factors affecting clinical decision-making. Evidence-based treatment guidelines and dental curricula should be reviewed to enhance inter-clinician agreement in clinical decision-making, ultimately improving patient care.

Relationship between career education experience among final-year dental hygiene students and their perspective towards work and profession: A nationwide survey in dental hygiene schools of Japan.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the experience of receiving career education among final-year dental hygiene students and their views regarding their work and profession, as part of research on the working style of dental hygienists. METHODS: An anonymous, self-administered survey was sent by post to all the 162 dental hygienist schools in Japan with dental hygiene students in their final year in November 2019. The main questions were regarding student attributes, career aspirations, their perspective on work and profession and whether or not they received career education at a dental hygienist training school. Analysis was conducted by cross-tabulation and logistic regression. RESULTS: Completed questionnaires were sent to us by 150 schools (response rate 92.6%), with a response from 6,270 students. The students who had received career education had significantly higher awareness and plans for the profession and a positive attitude towards the work (p < 0.01). Following adjustment for age, sex, educational attainment, length of the course of study and timing of class the results shows that there was a significant relation between the experience of the career education with having future plans (odds ratio = 2.11, 95% confidence interval = 1.88-2.38, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: It was observed that the experience of receiving career education just before graduating from dental hygienist school was related to an increased positive attitude of the students towards their work and profession. Further long-term investigations are necessary to evaluate the effects of career education among dental hygiene students and their attitude towards their profession.

Teaching History of Dentistry in Dental Curricula A survey of 393 dental schools in 100 countries.

Teaching history of dentistry and/or medicine in dental schools is not a priority today. A half a century ago it was part of a significant number of dental school curricula. As advances in science occurred and more demand on the curriculum were made, history of medicine and dentistry (HMD) was largely cast aside. In a recent survey of 393 dental programs in 100 countries on five continents, only 18.8% have a stand-alone course in HMD. Nearly half of the programs though have at least 1-2 hours of curriculum time devoted to HMD. When we consider a subset of the above survey, only 5% of dental schools in the US and Canada have a stand-alone course. The exclusion of HMD from current dental curricula is shortsighted. Teaching only current and state-of-the art aspects of dentistry is like showing a still image from the end of a movie without watching the rest.

Geoffrey Hilliard Sperber BSc BDS MS PhD FICD Dr Med Dent (Hon causa) FRSSAf and the Geoffrey and Robyn Sperber Health Sciences Library at the University of Alberta.

Geoffrey Sperber was a long-time honorary Curator of a Dentistry Museum at the University of Alberta. The latter has announced the receipt of a major donation from him and his wife to aid the building of a new Health Sciences Library that will contain the Museum. Recognizing their philanthropy, the new Library will be named the Geoffrey and Robyn Sperber Health Sciences Library.

A multicentric survey to evaluate preclinical education in Endodontology in German-speaking countries.

AIM: To evaluate preclinical education in Endodontology at Austrian, German and Swiss dental schools using an online survey. METHODOLOGY: An online survey divided into nine categories was sent using SurveyMonkey software to 37 dental schools, before the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire included 50 questions to evaluate preclinical endodontic education, such as faculty-to-student ratios, topics taught and materials used, in preclinical phantom head courses. Seven and 14 days after the first e-mail contact, dental schools received a reminder e-mail. After four and six weeks, the dental schools were contacted by telephone and asked to participate in the online survey. The processing time was eight weeks in total. RESULTS: The response rate was 89%. Preclinical endodontic education at the participating dental schools differs considerably. Theory classes ranged from 1 to 70 h (15 h mean), and practical classes ranged from 3 to 78 h (39 h mean). The faculty-to-student ratio varied between 1:4 and 1:38 (1:15 mean). Forty-five per cent of the dental schools had a specialist in endodontics teaching theory. Several dental microscopes were available for preclinical teaching purposes at 82% of the dental schools. The majority (82%) taught root canal preparation with rotary or reciprocating NiTi instruments. Overall, 85% of the dental schools taught lateral compaction, amongst other methods, for canal filling. CONCLUSION: A substantial divergence amongst the dental schools regarding the time dedicated to theory and practical instruction in Endodontology was reported. However, convergence in the use of root canal treatment techniques and materials was reported.

Why do students skip classroom lectures: A single dental school report.

BACKGROUND: Conventional classroom lectures continue to represent a major component of the dental education system to ensure optimum delivery of knowledge. Certain number of students are less compliant and likely to skip classes which may impact the overall academic performance. The aim of this study was to investigate dental students' attitude towards classroom attendance and potential reasons for absenteeism at King Abdulaziz University-Faculty of Dentistry (KAU-FD). METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey of all dental students actively enrolled at KAU-FD from January to June 2019. The survey included questions on demographics, average travel time to school, current dental year, most recent GPA, student's perspective toward classroom lectures. The survey was validated and distributed to all students at a pre-selected time frame. Data were analysed and presented as frequencies and percentages; chi-square test was used to explore parameters association. RESULTS: A total of 678 students consented and completed the survey. Overall, 44.3% of students were more likely to skip two classes or less per month. Second year dental students were more likely to be absent from classroom lectures (31.3%), while 3rd year dental students were less likely to do so (15.4%). Reported students' justifications for missing classes included early morning classes (47.9%), exams preparation (42%), and lecturer's weak presentation skills (41.9%). CONCLUSION: Compliance of dental students with classroom attendance has been an ongoing challenge for most programs. The current data suggests a multifactorial module for students' attitude toward classroom attendance. Future studies focusing on reasons behind classroom attendance behavior and addressing students' concerns are needed.

Quantitative and qualitative assessment of microbial aerosols in different indoor environments of a dental school clinic.

In the indoor environment of dental clinics, dental staff and patients are exposed to various types of infectious agents transported by aerosols and particles, generated during dental procedures, promoting an increased risk of cross-infection. The aim of this study was to determine the levels and diversity of microbial aerosol in relation to particle load in five different departments of a dental school clinic. The air samples were collected by an active single-stage Andersen sampler during the treatment procedure. The mean concentrations of airborne bacteria were in the range of 52-1030 and 8-844 CFU/m3 at the distances of 0.5 and 2 m, respectively. Bacterial aerosols in pediatric, endodontics, and restorative wards and fungal aerosols in all the sampling wards were significantly higher at the distances of 0.5 m. The dominant bacteria and fungi were identified as Micrococcus, Bacillus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, and Alternaria. The positive associations were also obtained between bacteria and fungi levels and particulate matter (PM) concentrations.

Gerodontology in the dental school curriculum: A scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the current status of gerodontology in the undergraduate dental curriculum. BACKGROUND: Internationally, there is recognition for the need to include gerodontology in dental education due to accelerating numbers of older dentate people. There is wide variation in the content and method of delivery of gerodontology in undergraduate curricula of dental schools. METHODS: A scoping review framework was chosen to identify existing gaps and key concepts in the research on current undergraduate gerodontology education. Arksey and O'Malley's framework was used with the qualitative data analysis software NVivo to identify comparable information on geriatric dental education. RESULTS: Five themes were highlighted in the studies including (1) gerodontology curriculum content, (2) attitudes, skills and knowledge of undergraduate dental students, (3) didactic teaching, (4) elective and compulsory teaching, and (5) extra-mural learning. The review found large variations in methodologies, presentation of data and findings. All studies emphasised a need for greater inclusion of gerodontology content in the undergraduate dental curriculum. CONCLUSION: The review found limited research reporting on the educational outcomes of gerodontology in dental curricula with a lack of comprehensive information to inform gerodontology content in dental schools. This review has highlighted the need for national and international guidelines to ensure mandatory inclusion of sufficient and specific gerodontology training to prepare graduates for a growing dentate frail and care-dependent population.

Dental school tracks related to the retention of dentists in Thai government service: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The shortage of dentists working in rural hospitals is an important public health problem resulting from dentist distribution inequity. The Ministry of Public Health of Thailand (MoPH) has implemented a policy of recruiting students with a rural background to be dental students and return home after graduating. This study aims to examine the relationship between admission tracks during the academic years 2005-2011 on retaining dentists in Thai government service and identify the factors associated with retention and resignation. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using an online questionnaire from 287 dentists who graduated from Chulalongkorn University (CU) between 2010 and 2016. Follow-up data consisted of the admission track, number of years spent in Thai government service, and factors that influenced their decision to stay or resign from Thai government service. Chi-squared analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The overall retention rate in Thai government service was 58.2%. Dentists in the rural track had a significantly higher retention rate than the normal track (p = 0.023). Female dentists who were married and graduated less than 3 years had a significantly higher resignation rate than others (p < 0.05). The main reasons for retention were "security in the profession," "high chance to pursue specialty training in the future," and "close proximity to hometown." Dentists from the CU rural admission tracks chose "close proximity to hometown" as the top reason, while others selected "security in the profession." The main reasons influencing resignation were "workplace far away from hometown" and "getting specialty training." CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that dentists in the rural track had a significantly higher retention rate than the normal track. The most important factor influencing both retention and resignation was workplace location, where being near to their hometown improved the retention rate of rural dentists. Therefore, the MoPH should increase student admission into the rural track to resolve the inequity in dentist distribution.

COVID-19 is a challenge for dental education-A commentary.

The COVID-19, which appeared to originate in China in December 2019, has spread worldwide pandemically. In this commentary, authors described this new challenge for dental education using the recent literature and experience gained in the Italian University of Catanzaro.