Debating: effective and satisfactory learning method in dentistry.

BACKGROUND: Education in the modern world of health needs diverse methods of learning and teaching. The traditional education model has limited capacity for developing abilities such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning skills. Therefore, improving the quality of teaching-learning processes requires implementing educational innovations in the classroom and evaluating them. This study aimed to determine the impact of the debate teaching method on improving the abilities of general dentistry doctoral students. METHODS: The research was a semi-experimental study with pre-tests and post-tests to measure the knowledge and abilities of students. The study included 60 dental students who completed the fall 2022 session of the Community Oral Health (COH) 2 practical course. This course, one of three practical components within the Community Oral Health curriculum, aligns with the educational framework of general dentistry. Challenging topics on which there is no consensus in dentistry were chosen for the debate. The descriptive statistics indicators include an independent t-test and variance analysis test with a significance level of 5%. Were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The results of the study showed that the average total knowledge (P < 0.001), 'perception of critical thinking skills (P < 0.001), expression power (P < 0.001), reasoning skills (P = 0.003), interpretation and Information analysis power (P < 0.001), the ability to find and use scientific databases (P < 0.001) and the ability to analyze and evaluate evidence (P < 0.001) increased significantly after intervention in students. 95% of students agreed/strongly agreed that this method enhances their ability to answer people's questions. From an instructor's point of view, students had 93.1% of the ability to reason and analyze information after intervention and 88.5% of the ability to think critically. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that the use of debate in the classroom is an effective way to present content. The process of evaluating data-driven arguments promotes higher-level cognitive skills and teaches students about the knowledge base and the use of scientific databases. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registration date: 21/11/2022, Registration number: IRCT20141128020129N3.

Dental caries experience in primary school-age children following "Students' Oral Health Promotion Program," Iran.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at determining the changes in dental caries experience in elementary school-age children following 5 years of the Students' Oral Health Promotion Program implementation. METHODS: In the present study, totally 2920 elementary school students participated and were selected by multistage cluster sampling. Based on the WHO Oral Health Survey Methods manual (4th edition), dental caries indices in primary and permanent teeth were assessed by clinical examination in schools. Data on socio-demographic characteristics and dental factors were collected through interviews based on questionnaire. The logistic and linear regression was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of the elementary school children was 9.45 (1.71) years, and 1481 (50.7%) were boys. There was a significant difference between genders, age, dental pain experience and student's parent supervision with dmft, DMFT and their caries status. For 1-year increase in age, 1.67 times increase in DMFT and 0.33 decrease in dmft were predicted. Girls had higher odds of DMFT. In contrast, the odds of dmft for girls were significantly lower compared with boys. Students with dental pain experience had significantly higher odds of DMFT and dmft. The Significant Caries Index (SiC) score for permanent dentition in 12-year-old children was 5.47. Sex was significantly correlated with SiC index. The odds of developing Sic was 0.98 times lower in girls than in boys. CONCLUSIONS: Dental caries was identified as a major public health problem among the elementary school students despite the implementation of the national project for oral health promotion.

Management of Dental School During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Application of Intervention Mapping.

Background: Coronavirus Diesease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has led to the suspension of the activities of dental schools. Therefore, reorganizing clinical settings and supporting services as quickly as possible has received much attention to reopen dental schools. The present study aimed to evaluate the applicability of the Intervention Mapping (IM) approach for designing, implementing, and evaluating an intervention program to prevent and control COVID-19 in dental schools. Methods: Following the IM protocol, six steps were completed in the planning and development of an intervention, targeting, and management of Dental School during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The information obtained from the needs assessment revealed that the COVID-19 outbreak prevention was associated with the use of personal protective equipment by all target groups, infection control measures taken in the environment, preparation of the environment and equipment, changes in the treatment plan according to the COVID-19 pandemic, changing the admission process of patients, and reduction of attendance of target groups in the school are linked with. In this study, determinant factors affecting the COVID-19 prevention at the individual level were identified based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). In this program, various methods, such as presentation of information, modeling role, and persuasion measures, were utilized and the practical programs included educational films and group discussions implemented. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that intervention in dental environments on the basis of the IM process can develop a comprehensive and structured program in the dental school and hence can reduce the risk of the COVID-19 infection.