E-learning on medical emergencies for Dentistry students: a randomized controlled trial / E-learning em emergências médicas para estudantes de Odontologia: um ensaio clínico randomizado

This study comparedtwo teaching pedagogies to addressmedical emergencies in dental officevisitsandevaluateddental school students' knowledge about medical emergencies.This randomized controlled trial involved54senior undergraduate dental students at theFederal University of Santa Mariadivided in two groups:students who received instruction via face-to-face traditional expository class;andstudents whoreceived the same instruction via distant learning format.The students were randomly allocated to the groupsby the randomiser.orgwebsite. Data were obtained by comparing the scores students received from answering to a semi-structured questionnaire containing inquiries on ethical and legal implications, and diagnosis and management of medicalemergencies in a dental officebefore and after the instruction. Before the instruction, 96%of studentsfrom the two groupslackedknowledge about the ethical and legal implications related to the dentist obligation to deal with medical emergencies. After the instruction, both groups increasedtheir knowledge similarly as there was no significant difference in the comparison between learning about medical emergencies through lectures and thorough an e-learning format.Both teaching methods presented satisfactory results, which makes the e-learning method an option as a didactic strategy (AU).

Esteestudocomparouduaspedagogiasdeensinoparalidarcomemergênciasmédicasemconsultasodontológicaseavaliouoconhecimentodealunosdocursoodontologiasobreemergênciasmédicas.Esteensaioclínicorandomizadoenvolveu54alunosdoúltimoanodocursodeodontologiadaUniversidadeFederaldeSantaMaria,divididosemdoisgrupos:alunosquereceberaminstruçãopormeiodeaulaexpositivatradicionalpresencial;ealunosquereceberamamesmainstruçãopormeiodoformatodeensinoadistância.Osalunosforamalocadosaleatoriamenteaosgrupospelositerandomiser.org.Osdadosforamobtidospormeiodacomparaçãodaspontuaçõesrecebidaspelosalunosaoresponderaumquestionáriosemiestruturadocontendoindagaçõessobreimplicaçõeséticaselegais,ediagnósticoemanejodeemergênciasmédicasemconsultórioodontológicoanteseapósainstrução.Antesdainstrução,96%dosalunosdosdoisgruposdesconheciamasimplicaçõeséticaselegaisrelacionadasàobrigaçãododentistaemlidarcomemergênciasmédicas.Apósainstrução,os dois grupos aumentaram seus conhecimentos de forma semelhante,poisnãohouvediferençasignificativanacomparaçãoentreoaprendizadosobreemergênciasmédicaspormeiodepalestrasepormeiodoformatoe-learning.Ambososmétodosdeensinoapresentaramresultadossatisfatórios,o que torna o método e-learning uma opção como estratégia didática (AU).

Analysis of the reliability of patient COVID-19 screening data compared against their actual test data.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the truthfulness of patients about their pre-appointment COVID-19 screening tests at a dental clinic. METHODS: A total of 613 patients were recruited for the study from the dental clinic at the Faculty of Dentistry, Najran University, Saudi Arabia. The data collection was done in three parts from the patients who visited the hospital to receive dental treatment. The first part included the socio-demographic characteristics of the patients and the COVID-19 swab tests performed within the past 14 days. The second part was the clinical examination, and the third part was a confirmation of the swab test taken by the patient by checking the Hesen website using the patient ID. After data collection, statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 26.0. Descriptive analysis was done and expressed as mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage (%). A cross-tabulation, also described as a contingency table, was used to identify trends and patterns across data and explain the correlation between different variables. RESULTS: It was seen from the status of the swab test within 14 days of the patient's arrival at the hospital for the dental treatment that 18 (2.9%) patients lied about the pre-treatment swab test within 14 days, and 595 (97.1%) were truthful. The observed and expected counts showed across genders and diagnosis a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001), and there was no significant difference seen across different age groups (p = 0.064) of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Dental healthcare workers are worried and assume a high risk of COVID-19 infection as the patients are not truthful about the pre-treatment COVID-19 swab test. Routine rapid tests on patients and the healthcare staff are a feasible option for lowering overall risks.

Ethical obliqations and the dental office team.

A hypothetical case of alleged sexual misconduct in a practice with high employee turnover and stress is analyzed by three experts. This case commentary examines the ethical role expectations of an office manager who is not directly involved but becomes aware of the activities. The commentators bring the perspectives of a dental hygienist, academic administrator, and attorney; a teacher of behavioral sciences in a dental school; and a general dentist with many years of practice experience.

HIV-positive status and preservation of privacy: a recent decision from the Italian Data Protection Authority on the procedure of gathering personal patient data in the dental office.

The processing of sensitive information in the health field is subject to rigorous standards that guarantee the protection of information confidentiality. Recently, the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali) stated their formal opinion on a standard procedure in dental offices involving the submission of a questionnaire that includes the patient's health status. HIV infection status is included on the form. The Authority has stated that all health data collection must be in accordance with the current Italian normative framework for personal data protection and respect the patient's freedom. This freedom allows the patient to decide, in a conscious and responsible way, whether to share health information with health personnel without experiencing any prejudice in the provision of healthcare requested. Moreover, data collection must be relevant and cannot exceed the principles of treatment goals with reference to the specific care of the concerned person. However, the need for recording information regarding HIV infection at the first appointment, regardless of the clinical intervention or therapeutic plan that needs to be conducted, should not alter the standard protection measures of the healthcare staff. In fact, these measures are adopted for every patient.