Massive Open Online Courses in Dental Education: Two Viewpoints: Viewpoint 1: Massive Open Online Courses Offer Transformative Technology for Dental Education and Viewpoint 2: Massive Open Online Courses Are Not Ready for Primetime.

This point/counterpoint article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of incorporating Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) into dental education, focusing on whether this relatively new educational modality could impact traditional dental curricula. Viewpoint 1 asserts that MOOCs can be useful in dental education because they offer an opportunity for students to learn through content and assessment that is delivered online. While specific research on MOOCs is limited, some evidence shows that online courses may produce similar learning outcomes to those in face-to-face courses. Given that MOOCs are intended to be open source, there could be opportunities for dental schools with faculty shortages and financial constraints to incorporate these courses into their curricula. In addition to saving money, dental schools could use MOOCs as revenue sources in areas such as continuing education. Viewpoint 2 argues that the hype over MOOCs is subsiding due in part to weaker than expected evidence about their value. Because direct contact between students, instructors, and patients is essential to the dental curriculum, MOOCs have yet to demonstrate their usefulness in replacing more than a subset of didactic courses. Additionally, learning professionalism, a key component of health professions education, is best supported by mentorship that provides significant interpersonal interaction. In spite of the potential of early MOOC ideology, MOOCs in their current form require either further development or altered expectations to significantly impact dental education.

Knowing (and understanding) the key numbers for your practice.

Most dentists see accounting and bookkeeping as a necessary evil instead of a helpful tool. Yet the most financially successful and happy dentists understand the need for good financial management. Here's an overview that will help you better-understand the key numbers in your practice.

Dental education's involvement with dentists' learning in practice: data and theory.

A careful reading of the Journal of Dental Education from its founding in 1936 and of the Proceedings of the American Association of Dental Schools (the predecessor of the American Dental Education Association) from 1924, as well as other documents, allows us to describe the role dental schools have played in supporting the learning of dentists following graduation from formal programs. This article is in two parts. First, data are presented showing the emergence of continuing dental education in the 1960s and its continual growth. The exception to this pattern is that dental schools shared in the initial bloom but experienced an inexorable decline beginning in the 1980s. In the second part, it is shown that scholarship regarding how dentists learn over multiple settings and as they acquire greater mastery of their discipline has also failed to develop. Reasons are given for both phenomena, reasons that include competitive external factors and point to intrinsic weaknesses in the scholarship of dental education.

The influence of industry on dental education.

Academic dental institutions face the growing challenge of securing the resources needed to develop a curriculum that incorporates current innovation and technology to ensure that students' learning experiences are relevant to current dental practice. As a result, university-industry relationships are becoming increasingly common in academe. While these relationships facilitate curriculum relevance, they also expose students to external market forces. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of industry on dental education using a qualitative research study design. Analysis of semistructured interviews with thirteen Dalhousie University dental faculty members revealed two primary themes that suggest a tension between the traditional hierarchical organizational structures guiding curriculum (i.e., authoritarianism) and industry's quest for profit (i.e., entrepreneurialism). Additional themes demonstrate a belief that industry directly influences students' knowledge and understanding of evidence as well as their experience with both the formal and informal curricula. Industry's presence in academe is a concern. Dental educators, as stewards of the profession, must be nimble in brokering industry's presence without compromising the integrity of both the educational program and the teaching institution as a whole.

Participation in continuing professional development by Victorian dental practitioners in 2004.

BACKGROUND: Continuing professional development (CPD) has been long considered an integral component of professional practice across a range of health professions. It is believed to ensure the maintenance of practitioner clinical competence and knowledge of current concepts. This study investigated the participation in and attitudes of Victorian dental personnel to CPD activities. METHODS: A self-administered cross-sectional survey of a random sample of registered dental care providers (n = 451) was conducted from March to June 2005 using an anonymous, postal, self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The response rate was low (48.1 per cent). Nearly 90 per cent of respondents attended a CPD course in 2004, with the mean hours of attendance ranging from 8.3 to 36.9 hours, depending on registration category. Nearly half of the dentists attended more than 20 hours of CPD courses, while less than 20 per cent of prosthetists attended more than 15 hours of CPD courses. Three-quarters of respondents supported mandatory CPD as a condition of registration. CONCLUSIONS: There was a high level of participation in continuing professional development activities by surveyed Victorian dental care providers in 2004, although more than half of the dentists and specialists, and nearly two-thirds of therapists, hygienists and prosthetists would fail to meet the new DPBV mandatory requirements for CPD.