Current challenges in dental education- a scoping review
Abstract Introduction This scoping review aimed to review the various challenges facing dental education. Dental education faces multiple institutional, student and faculty-based challenges. Institutional challenges include updating infrastructure resources, recruiting qualified faculty, and impleme...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMC
2024-12-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06545-1 |
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| author | Lovely M. Annamma Sudhir Rama Varma Huda Abuttayem Prathibha Prasad Sabrin Ali Azim Ruba Odeh Biji Thomas George Chandrasekharan Nair Mohmed Isaqali Karobari |
| author_facet | Lovely M. Annamma Sudhir Rama Varma Huda Abuttayem Prathibha Prasad Sabrin Ali Azim Ruba Odeh Biji Thomas George Chandrasekharan Nair Mohmed Isaqali Karobari |
| author_sort | Lovely M. Annamma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Introduction This scoping review aimed to review the various challenges facing dental education. Dental education faces multiple institutional, student and faculty-based challenges. Institutional challenges include updating infrastructure resources, recruiting qualified faculty, and implementing administrative policies that enhance dental education. Student-based challenges include implementing teaching/learning strategies that will enable students to acquire adequate knowledge, skill, and logical reasoning to identify and execute evidence-based treatment. Faculty-based challenges include regular updating of the dental curriculum, including recent advances in teaching methodology, and adding elective courses that can enhance the readiness of future dentists to address the evolving oral health needs of the public. Methodology The scoping review was conducted using the PRISMA-ScR, focusing on the current challenges in dental education. Articles were identified via searches of Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science and Embase for the period 2019 to 2024. Only English language papers detailing challenges in dental education were included. At the culmination of the search protocol, twelve articles were selected for inclusion in this scoping review. Results Analysis of these twelve papers identified several themes, which apply to the dental education systems of many, but not all, nations: (1) the correlation between the basic science and clinical phases of the curriculium remains poor; (2) dental students receive inadequate patient care experience to truly develop the competency needed for unsupervised dental practice after graduation; (3) dental students often graduate with inadequate foundational knowledge and clinical experience to provide care for geriatric, specialized pediatric and medically compromised patients, and recieve limited clinical experience in public health settings; (4) dental schools struggle to provide students with training in the technology advancements that are increasingly prevalent in dental practice; (5) difficulties in hiring, training and retaining dentists in faculty positions diminishes the quality of the education experience for students; and (6) an increased number of graduates in some countries struggle to find employment. Conclusion A variety of studies and advocacy papers over the past 25 years have identified or described similar challenges facing dental education in many nations of the world. The fact that these challenges persist signals the urgent need for curricular and infrastructure reform to better prepare dental students for the realities of dental practice in the 21st century and to provide an environment that will provide an attractive workplace for dentists who desire to participate in the education of the next generation of dentists. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-17a88dedf2f146caa16962428d4d5393 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-17a88dedf2f146caa16962428d4d53932025-08-20T01:47:32ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202024-12-0124111010.1186/s12909-024-06545-1Current challenges in dental education- a scoping reviewLovely M. Annamma0Sudhir Rama Varma1Huda Abuttayem2Prathibha Prasad3Sabrin Ali Azim4Ruba Odeh5Biji Thomas George6Chandrasekharan Nair7Mohmed Isaqali Karobari8Adjunct clinical faculty College of Dentistry, Ajman UniversityDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Ajman UniversityDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Center of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, College of Dentistry, Ajman UniversityDepartment of Basic Dental Sciences, Center of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, College of Dentistry, Ajman UniversityDepartment of Diagnostic and Surgical Dental Sciences, Gulf Medical UniversityDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Center of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, College of Dentistry, Ajman UniversityRAK College of Medical Sciences (RAKCOMS), RAK Medical & Health Sciences University (RAKMHSU)Department of Prosthodontics, Sri Sankara Dental CollegeDepartment of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha UniversityAbstract Introduction This scoping review aimed to review the various challenges facing dental education. Dental education faces multiple institutional, student and faculty-based challenges. Institutional challenges include updating infrastructure resources, recruiting qualified faculty, and implementing administrative policies that enhance dental education. Student-based challenges include implementing teaching/learning strategies that will enable students to acquire adequate knowledge, skill, and logical reasoning to identify and execute evidence-based treatment. Faculty-based challenges include regular updating of the dental curriculum, including recent advances in teaching methodology, and adding elective courses that can enhance the readiness of future dentists to address the evolving oral health needs of the public. Methodology The scoping review was conducted using the PRISMA-ScR, focusing on the current challenges in dental education. Articles were identified via searches of Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science and Embase for the period 2019 to 2024. Only English language papers detailing challenges in dental education were included. At the culmination of the search protocol, twelve articles were selected for inclusion in this scoping review. Results Analysis of these twelve papers identified several themes, which apply to the dental education systems of many, but not all, nations: (1) the correlation between the basic science and clinical phases of the curriculium remains poor; (2) dental students receive inadequate patient care experience to truly develop the competency needed for unsupervised dental practice after graduation; (3) dental students often graduate with inadequate foundational knowledge and clinical experience to provide care for geriatric, specialized pediatric and medically compromised patients, and recieve limited clinical experience in public health settings; (4) dental schools struggle to provide students with training in the technology advancements that are increasingly prevalent in dental practice; (5) difficulties in hiring, training and retaining dentists in faculty positions diminishes the quality of the education experience for students; and (6) an increased number of graduates in some countries struggle to find employment. Conclusion A variety of studies and advocacy papers over the past 25 years have identified or described similar challenges facing dental education in many nations of the world. The fact that these challenges persist signals the urgent need for curricular and infrastructure reform to better prepare dental students for the realities of dental practice in the 21st century and to provide an environment that will provide an attractive workplace for dentists who desire to participate in the education of the next generation of dentists.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06545-1Dental educationChallengesDental curriculumPatient careArtificial intelligence |
| spellingShingle | Lovely M. Annamma Sudhir Rama Varma Huda Abuttayem Prathibha Prasad Sabrin Ali Azim Ruba Odeh Biji Thomas George Chandrasekharan Nair Mohmed Isaqali Karobari Current challenges in dental education- a scoping review BMC Medical Education Dental education Challenges Dental curriculum Patient care Artificial intelligence |
| title | Current challenges in dental education- a scoping review |
| title_full | Current challenges in dental education- a scoping review |
| title_fullStr | Current challenges in dental education- a scoping review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Current challenges in dental education- a scoping review |
| title_short | Current challenges in dental education- a scoping review |
| title_sort | current challenges in dental education a scoping review |
| topic | Dental education Challenges Dental curriculum Patient care Artificial intelligence |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06545-1 |
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