Training status and interest in certification of nondiplomate faculty teaching predoctoral dental public health.

OBJECTIVES: A survey was conducted to better understand the training needs of faculty members without dental public health (DPH) specialty board certification who teach DPH to dental students. METHODS: An 11-item questionnaire was sent to 193 non-DPH diplomate faculty members at US dental schools who were dentists and at least one of the following: a member of the American Association of Dental Schools Community and Preventive Dentistry Section, a referral from an academic American Board of Dental Public Health diplomate, a DPH faculty listed on the school's Web pages, a DPH contact from the AADS Institutional Directory, or the school's dean if no other contact. RESULTS: A 70 percent response rate was obtained. Seventy-nine percent of the respondents taught at least one national board-related DPH topic. Among these faculty members, 67 percent have or are in training for the master of public health, 26 percent have completed or are in a DPH residency, and 63 percent desire training in one or more of the DPH topics. The majority (64%) does not plan to take the specialty exam, while 28 percent plan to take the exam within five years. About half reported no personal incentives to take the exam and 39 percent perceived no institutional incentives. CONCLUSIONS: These nondiplomate teachers of predoctoral DPH desire training, but appear to have barriers and perceive few benefits to achieving DPH board certification.

Academic dental public health diplomates: their distribution and recommendations concerning the predoctoral dental public health faculty.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the representation of academically based diplomates of the American Board of Dental Public Health (ABDPH) and to identify their perceptions on the training of dental public health predoctoral faculty. METHODS: Data were collected by a mailed, self-administered, 13-item questionnaire. The population was the 48 diplomates of the ABDPH as of March 1997 associated with academic institutions. RESULTS: Twenty of the 55 US dental schools had a diplomate of the ABDPH with a mean of 1.8 diplomates per school with a diplomate. An average of 4.5 full-time faculty members per school were associated with teaching dental public health. A master's degree in public health (MPH) was the most frequently suggested educational requirement for dental public health faculty. Continuing education courses were training needs perceived for dental public health faculty. The lack of time, money, and incentives, along with perceived rigidity of requirements for board certification, were reported as major barriers for faculty becoming dental public health board certified. CONCLUSIONS: Numerous challenges confront the development of a strong dental public health presence in US dental schools. These challenges include, among others, insufficient numbers of academic dental public health specialists and insufficient motivations to encourage promising candidates to pursue specialty status.