20 Years Beyond the Crossroads: The Path to Interprofessional Education at U.S. Dental Schools.

In 2003, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) called for interprofessional education (IPE) to be adopted by the health professions education community as the pedagogical approach to educating future practitioners for practice in multidisciplinary teams. In dentistry, this call built on points made in the key 1995 IOM report Dental Education at the Crossroads. Currently, IPE and collaborative practice are among the most significant changes to health care education and delivery in the 21st century. This report describes the path that dental education has taken regarding IPE since the first national report on the subject was released in 1995. It also reports the results of a 2014 survey of U.S. dental schools to ascertain their progress in adopting and implementing IPE, as well as perceived obstacles that persist. Of the 63 dental schools, 62 participated, for a response rate of 98%. While over 90% of the respondents reported that their schools offer IPE experiences, only 58.1% had formal university-led and -promoted IPE programs. Formal IPE experiences were more prevalent at public institutions (67.6%, compared with 44% of private institutions). In 2012, a previous study reported that 66% of the IPE experiences offered to dental students were voluntary; today, 69.1% of these activities are required. Interprofessional core competencies occupy four of the top five content areas of IPE programming, providing a framework for schools to implement IPE activities. However, finding the bandwidth within the dental curriculum to accommodate IPE competencies, identifying adequate time in the schedule, providing faculty training, and assessing IPE activities were the most frequently reported challenges. The results of this survey lead to recommendations for academic dental institutions moving through this transitional phase in adopting IPE.

The economic costs and benefits of dental education: an empirical analysis.

The rising costs associated with obtaining a dental education have caused some to question the financial benefit of pursuing a dental degree. There is a concern that recent graduates may have difficulty finding professional opportunities that provide the income necessary to service their accumulated educational debt. The aim of this study was to evaluate the trends in educational costs to aid in making an accurate appraisal of the financial benefit of a dental education. Adjusted into constant dollar terms, data from a variety of sources were collected for economic variables such as tuition, fees, student indebtedness, and dentists' earnings. These variables were then analyzed to determine the true costs and benefits of obtaining a dental education. The results showed that, over the course of the last decade, educational costs increased faster than the real net income of practicing dentists, which led to a decline in the return on investment in dental education. However, regardless of an applicant's choice of public or private dental school, there continues to be a positive economic return on students' commitment of both financial resources and time to receive a dental education.

Comparison of traditional six-year and new four-year dental curricula in South Korea.

This study aimed to compare the dental curriculum of the traditional six-year system with that of the new four-year (graduate-entry) system in South Korea. There are 11 dental schools in South Korea: six are public and five are private. Eight offer the new four-year program and the other three offer the traditional six-year program. Descriptive analyses were conducted using bibliographic data and local information along with statistical analyses such as chi-square tests. In the six-year programs, clinical dentistry subjects were taught almost equally in practical and didactic courses, while the basic science courses were taught more often as practical courses (P < 0.0001). In the four-year programs, both the basic science and clinical dentistry subjects were taught didactically more often; while more dentistry subjects were taught than basic sciences (P = 0.004). The four-year program model in South Korea is more focused on dentistry than on basic science, while both basic and clinical dentistry subjects were equally taught in the six-year program.

A survey of U.S. dental school programs that help students consider academic careers.

The faculty shortage in dental education has been reported for many years and is expected to increase. Some dental schools have developed "grow your own" programs that introduce students to academic careers and give them teaching experiences. These programs generally consist of teaching assistant, fellowship, and peer tutoring opportunities. In this study, a nineteen-item survey was sent to fifty-six U.S. dental schools to determine the extent to which such programs were being implemented. Thirty-six out of fifty-six dental schools responded, a response rate of 64 percent. Twenty-five schools or 69 percent of the respondents reported the existence of a formal teaching assistant, fellowship, or peer tutoring program in which students teach in some capacity. The main reasons reported for implementing these programs were to expose students to academia and to address faculty shortages. The respondents reported that positive outcomes for dental student teachers and their students were academic benefits and increased interest in academic life. Among the barriers reported were securing faculty and financial support and problems with scheduling.

Enrollment, cost, and academic admission criteria of U.S. Dental schools by geographic region and institution type.

This article presents the academic qualifications of matriculating dental students (as indicated by overall undergraduate GPA, undergraduate science GPA, average DAT scores, and average PAT scores) and total cost of education for students at U.S. dental schools according to geographic location and funding sources. Dental schools were divided on the basis of geographic location (Northeast, South, Central, or West) and principal means of funding (public versus private). Average four-year total educational expenses as reported in the 1996-97 and 2000-01 matriculation years were compared as well as undergraduate overall GPA, science GPA, DAT academic average, and PAT score. Public dental schools in the southern region cost significantly less than any other region of any funding type. Public dental schools in the western region had significantly higher average GPA, average science GPA, DAT academic average, and PAT scores among their matriculating classes than did any other region. Public dental schools from the western region also had the least amount of increase in projected four-year expenses between the two matriculation years compared. Excluding PAT scores, western public dental schools had the highest academic admission criteria of any region of either funding type.

Survey of Dental Student Financial Assistance, 2001-02.

The American Dental Education Association's 2001-02 Survey of Dental Student Financial Assistance obtained data by which to report, in aggregate and by type of school, the amount of financial assistance being received by dental students, in the form of loans, grants and scholarships, and work-study programs. Over 90 percent of the dental students received financial assistance through one or more federal, state, and/or school source. The average amount of assistance per student was dollar 35,100, ranging from an average of dollar 27,700 at public dental schools to dollar 51,100 at private dental schools. Loan programs accounted for almost 88 percent of all financial assistance; grants and scholarships, for 12 percent; work-study programs, for 0.2 percent. Overall, financial assistance exceeded average tuition and fees by 102 percent. With such levels of reliance on financial assistance, it remains imperative that students, even at the undergraduate level, receive the counseling, monitoring, and advice that will help them judiciously seek and manage appropriate types and amounts of financial assistance as they obtain their dental education.

Factors affecting the mobility of pediatric dentistry faculty.

PURPOSE: A questionnaire was used to develop a profile of current pediatric dentistry faculty to determine whether current faculty would consider relocating to accept another position in academia, and to identify what factors are most important to current full-time faculty when considering another faculty position. RESULTS: Responding males had a significantly higher mean age (49.3 years) than the females (39.3 years). A significantly greater proportion of women (87%) than men (66%) reported that they were prepared to move if offered an improved career opportunity. Both women and men ranked an improved opportunity for professional growth followed by salary increase as the highest rated factors in considering relocation. There was no statistical difference between women and men at the assistant professor level relative to the importance of academic promotion opportunity. However, women at the associate professor level ranked an opportunity for academic promotion statistically higher than did men.

O "milagre" da multiplicação dos cursos / The miracle of the multiplication of new courses

A cada ano, surgem no Brasil novas faculdades de Odontologia, gerando preocupação com a qualidade dos cursos oferecidos e com o excesso de profissionais despejados no mercado de trabalho. No terceiro milênio, a Odontologia poderá ser sinônimo de desemprego