Foreign-trained dentists' reflections on access to care after participating in a community-based dental education curriculum.

Many people suffer poor oral health due to dentists not providing care to them. The number of foreign-trained dentists in the US is increasing, yet little is known about their involvement in providing care to underserved populations. Dental education programs use community-based dental education (CBDE) to expose dental students to access to care issues, and encourage them to provide care to underserved populations upon graduation. The aim of this study was to assess foreign-trained dentists' attitudes about access to care issues after completing a CBDE course at a dental school in the Midwest. Fifty-two dentists participated in the CBDE program from 2018 to 2019, as part of an advanced standing curriculum, and completed guided, reflective essays. Forty-seven dentists agreed to have their essays anonymously coded for research. Four researchers reviewed the essays independently, developed a coding scheme, and recoded to agreement. The main themes dentists mentioned were the affect of the CBDE program on enhancing their clinical skills, fostering an awareness of healthcare system inadequacies, as well as an awareness of how specific social determinants limit access to care, and helping to encourage a sense of personal and professional responsibility to address access to care issues. This study highlights the value of CBDE on helping future dental providers learn about and reflect on access to care issues. It also provides insight into foreign-trained dentists' attitudes about access to care issues, and supports their participation in CBDE programs to foster their contributions in addressing access to care issues in the US.

Dental students' comfort discussing nutrition and obesity prevention with parents and caregivers.

PURPOSE: Dentists can address childhood obesity by educating patients about mediating factors, such as nutrition and dietary habits, facilitating behavioral interventions, and participating in interprofessional collaborations. Dental schools are encouraged to prepare future dentists to address childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to assess dental students' attitudes, comfort, and perceived barriers discussing nutrition and obesity prevention with parents and caregivers of children aged 0-5, after a one-time service-learning experience in a pediatric primary care setting to promote oral health. METHODS: Following conversations with parents and caregivers, students completed an 11-item survey via Qualtrics. RESULTS: Of 144 second-year dental students that participated in the service-learning experience over 2 years, 101 participated in the survey for a response rate of 70.1%. Most students agreed that dentists' roles include discussing nutrition (98.0%) and obesity prevention (83.2%). During the service-learning experience, 78.2 percent of students discussed nutrition, and 5.0% discussed obesity prevention, with 3.0% and 22.8% of students reporting some level of discomfort with each topic, respectively. The most reported barriers for discussing both nutrition and obesity prevention were concern for "appearing judgmental" and "fear of offending clients." Mean comfort scores among students who reported barriers of "appearing judgmental" (p = < 0.0001) and "fear of offending clients" (p = 0.017) for nutrition discussions, and a "lack of parental acceptance of guidance" as a barrier for discussing obesity prevention (p = 0.016), suggest that those barriers were associated with less comfort. CONCLUSION: Dental students' perceived barriers to discussing nutrition and obesity prevention with parents and caregivers may negatively influence dental students' comfort.

A model for selection and assessment of community-based sites for dental students' extramural clinical experiences.

As a recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson's Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education grant, the Extramural Education Program (EEP) at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry was charged with developing partnerships with community-based oral health programs throughout Illinois. These programs are to be used for clinical service-learning rotations for fourth-year dental students, relying on the utilization of the dentists employed at the community site as preceptors for the students. Because the College of Dentistry had essentially no community-based service-learning experiences prior to the Robert Wood Johnson grant, procedures and protocols needed to be developed to standardize a process for site and preceptor selection. An administrative process was developed to engage, recruit, and partner with community-based oral health programs that provided direct clinical services. This article will discuss the development of criteria used to select sites and preceptors for extramural clinical rotations; the development of a set of standardized assessment instruments; and the credentialing process for community-based adjunct faculty that leads to the affiliation agreements. These community-based rotations have been integrated into the College of Dentistry curriculum as a required extramural service-learning course referred to as Extramural Clinical Experience (DADM 325).

The views of dentists, nurses and nutritionists on the association between diabetes and periodontal disease: a qualitative study in a Latino community.

OBJECTIVE: To interview health professionals in a Latino community about the association between diabetes and periodontitis, and provide a basis to develop interventions for them to promote oral health and good glycemic control among patients with diabetes. METHODS: Five dentists, seven nurses and two nutritionists were interviewed about their practices relevant to oral health and diabetes, knowledge about the association, beliefs about Latinos, recommendations on reaching others in their fields, and barriers. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed qualitatively. RESULTS: Professionals identified policy, community and practice barriers for promoting diabetic control and oral health. CONCLUSIONS: Producing a resource list, cross-educating professionals about diabetes and oral health, training professionals to better serve Latino patients, developing appropriate protocols for each profession regarding the association between diabetes and periodontitis, and educating the community about diabetic control, oral health and disease prevention were identified as potential strategies to improve oral health among Latino persons with diabetes.

Management of experiences in community-based dental education.

The successful management of community-based service-learning relies on developing and maintaining community partnerships that meet both the educational mission of the dental school and the service mission of the community clinic. The partnership enhances the dental curriculum by introducing students to a wide variety of practice models, patient populations, and perspectives on health care delivery systems. The partnership enhances the service mission of the community sites by providing them with a university affiliation, a window into the state-of-the-art techniques that students bring with them from the dental school, and a pool of future graduates who may choose to practice in that clinic setting. This "win-win" scenario is not automatic, but rather relies on carefully matching, maintaining, and evaluating the service-learning partnerships. This article describes the development and implementation of the community-based service-learning curriculum in the College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago.