Oral health community engagement programs for rural communities: A scoping review.

This scoping review aims to identify the available literature on oral health community engagement programs that have been developed to guide oral health care in rural communities and to summarize their outcomes. This review was conducted using the 5-stage scoping review framework outlined by Arksey and O'Malley. We conducted a literature search with defined eligibility criteria through electronic databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and Wiley Online; other well-established online scientific health and dental organizations such as the WHO, the Fédération Dentaire Internationale of the World Dental Federation, the American Dental Association, and the South African Dental Association; and grey literature spanning the time interval from January 2012 to August 2023. The charted data were classified, analysed, and reported using descriptive and thematic analyses. A total of 19 records were included in the final review. These records were classified into four categories of interventions: community-based, school-based, integrated dental-based, and non-dental volunteer oral health programs. The findings imply that there is a growing appreciation for the significance of qualitative data in enhancing oral healthcare interventions and outcomes. Furthermore, the study showed that oral health strategies were successful in shaping the understanding and perception of oral health among children and mothers/caregivers, and in improving the oral health and quality of life of edentulous older adults and children living in rural communities.

Strategies to implement competencies as it relates to a competency framework in a dental undergraduate curriculum: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Worldwide, dental schools are underpinned by approved competency frameworks or competency statements developed for specific contexts or countries. Literature are replete with competencies required and assessed within this frameworks however limited literature that guides the incorporation of competencies and implementation of the competencies related to the competency framework in dental curricula. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic review design was used. The research question addressed for this systematic review was: What are the strategies used to develop core competencies undergraduate dental curricula? Databases included in the searches were: MEDLINE(ebscoHost), Science Direct, MEDLINE(Pubmed), Wiley Online Library, ERIC. A meta-synthesis analysis consisting of a descriptive meta-synthesis to critically analyse and discuss emerging themes from the findings of the six included studies were completed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Strategies used to develop core competencies were divided into four components namely organizational structure, faculty development, teaching strategies and assessment strategies. To consider a holistic approach to develop core competencies, changes in the organizational structure needs to be in place first. With the appropriate organizational structure in place, faculty development to implement competency strategies would be more supported and feasible. From the findings of the included articles, faculty development regarding teaching strategies and assessment methods were considered necessary to implement core competencies in a dental curriculum. CONCLUSION: A strong relationship between the suggested implementation strategies from this systematic review findings and the multifaceted approach for the CanMEDS exist. Teaching and assessments, faculty development strategies are common strategies. Surprisingly, organisational structure changes were not included as implementation strategy of CanMEDS.

Undergraduate research- a tale of three African institutions.

Background: The inclusion of research in undergraduate medical curricula benefits students as well as the scientific community. Multiple studies report the presence of one or more barriers to research training in these curricula. Objectives: This paper presents and compares three studies done regarding the teaching of research in undergraduate medical curricula in South Africa, Sudan and Uganda. Methods: Two cross-sectional study designs (South Africa and Sudan) and one interventional study design (Uganda) were conducted. Both cross-sectional studies used mixed methods while the Ugandan study used a quantitative method. A total of 41 faculty members and 554 students participated. The studies used a combination of surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and document analysis. Results: Participants from all three studies valued research and considered it useful and relevant to their studies. The findings from the South African and Sudanese studies align with the 'Four I's' framework that summarise the barriers to research training as lack of initiative, impulse, incentive and idols. The Ugandan study demonstrated improved self-reported knowledge and attitude (specifically anxiety) among participants after completion of a short course on research.

COVID-19 and its impact in the dental setting: A scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: The scoping review examined the evidence related to infection control and transmission measures of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a dental setting during this pandemic. Dental practitioners are normally guided in practice by set ethical principles, thus the researchers wanted to determine how these rules are managed during this pandemic. METHODS: A protocol specific for the objectives of this study was developed according to the criteria for a scoping review. Relevant databases (Pubmed, Scopus, Elsevier, Science Direct, Wiley), including online access to health/ dental organizations (World Health Organization/ American Dental Association), were searched to identify evidence which was restricted to the English language for the period 2015-2020. Predetermined eligibility criteria were applied, evidence was assessed and data extracted for each included article. Relevant outcomes assessed were: infection control measures, transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such as modes and sources of transmission and the ethical principles related to the dental setting with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Searches yielded a total of 402 articles: 387 from electronic databases and 15 from other sources. Of these, 231 were unrelated to the objectives of the current scoping review. The full text of 69 studies was assessed for eligibility, of which 26 were finalized for inclusion following the objectives and inclusion criteria set for the scoping review. Most of the included articles were reviews, recommendations and guidelines for dentists. A narrative explanation of the pre-specified outcomes is reported for the 3 areas covered for this review. There is no clinical evidence available that can support the recommendations by individuals, dental organizations or health authorities related to the objectives of this review, but these may be considered as the much needed guidelines during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. A different ethical framework is required during a pandemic and these must be informed by evidence.

Aligning clinical assessment with course elements in prosthodontic dentistry: a South African case.

Clinical tests were introduced as an additional clinical assessment tool in the prosthodontics curriculum of the fourth-year undergraduate dentistry program at one South African university. This study compared the relationship between the students' performance in the clinical tests and daily clinical grades on the one hand with their theoretical performance on the other. It also explored the perceptions of the academic staff on the validity of clinical tests as an assessment tool. The analysis of the students' test results showed insignificant relationships between their clinical daily grades and their grades for assessing theory. However, clinical assessment via tests is well accepted by the course staff, and they perceived them to be more reliable than daily clinical grades as assessment methods. The findings of the study support other studies that concluded that the daily grades of dental students poorly correlate with their competency exams module. The findings also relate well to the lecturers' views that clinical tests were more reliable as a clinical assessment tool than the students' daily clinical grade.