Developing a group practice comprehensive care education curriculum.
(9/40)
In fall 2002 the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry implemented a Group Practice Comprehensive Care Clinical Education Curriculum. The primary responsibility for patient care has shifted in this comprehensive care curriculum from the students to the faculty and staff. Students have a primary responsibility for learning. This competency-based education curriculum utilizes a variety of student evaluation methods including self-evaluation, OSCE, and portfolio to verify competence. Formative evaluation methods are utilized in daily assessment of student performance. On-time graduation rates have increased from 60-70 percent to 96 percent, and regional board first-time pass rates have been maintained at 90+ percent. Overall predoctoral clinical productivity in the first full year of the program has increased by over 300,000 dollars. (+info)
An interdisciplinary approach to case-based teaching: does it create patient-centered and culturally sensitive providers?
(10/40)
This investigation explored whether teaching a case-based seminar influenced dental students' perceptions of the importance of various factors for diagnosis and treatment planning. In addition, the effects of an interdisciplinary approach to case-based teaching were analyzed. During the winter semesters 2004 and 2005, 204 second-year dental students participated in a case-based comprehensive care seminar. The students were randomly assigned either to a section with a behavioral science instructor present or to a section without a behavioral science instructor. At the beginning and end of each semester, the students evaluated the importance of various factors for diagnosis and treatment planning in self-administered questionnaires. This seminar increased students' importance ratings of subjective oral health-related factors (such as dental fear) and diversity-related factors (such as the patient's ethnicity/race) from the beginning to the end of the semester. Students in the section with a behavioral science instructor rated the importance of behavioral and diversity-related factors higher than students in the section without the behavioral science instructor. These findings suggest that interdisciplinary, case-based teaching increased students' appreciation of the complexity of patient care and of a patient-centered, culturally sensitive approach to diagnosis and treatment planning. (+info)
The development, implementation, utilization and outcomes of a comprehensive dental program for older adults residing in long-term care facilities.
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This paper documents the experience of the University of British Columbia's Geriatric Dentistry Program (GDP) with emphasis on the dental treatment needs of patients during its first year of operation. The GDP provided access to dental care for residents of longterm care facilities, education for hospital staff concerning daily mouth care, education of dental students and an opportunity for research. The first year of clinical activity saw a small, yet significant, improvement in oral health for residents using the dental services. We hope that the outcomes of this new dental program for long-term care facilities will encourage dentists to provide care for this vulnerable population. (+info)
Rational dental care: part 1. Has the concept changed in 20 years?
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The concept of "rational dental care" was developed 20 years ago when it became clear that idealized treatment plans for frail and functionally dependent older adults were often inappropriate. This first in a series of 2 articles reviews the reasons for developing the concept. (+info)
Increasing dentists' capacity for secondary prevention of eating disorders: identification of training, network, and professional contingencies.
(13/40)
The incidence of eating disorders has increased substantially over the last forty years. Primary care physicians and dentists share a parallel challenge for secondary prevention of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The dentist, in particular, has a uniquely important and valuable role with respect to assessment of oral and physical manifestations, patient communication, referral, case management, and restorative care. Despite this crucial role, few dentists are engaged in eating disorder-specific secondary prevention. The purpose of this study was to explore beliefs, attitudes, and experiences of general dentists regarding eating disorder-specific secondary prevention behaviors using focus group methodology. Three ninety-minute focus groups were conducted with twenty-one general dentists (seventeen male, four female) recruited from the 2004 Academy of General Dentistry Leadership Conference. Data from the focus groups were analyzed to identify two over-arching themes and associated subthemes with regard to supports and barriers to eating disorder-specific secondary prevention practices. Analysis of data revealed that training, network, and dental professional contingencies emerged as places of influence for increasing capacity among dentists with regard to secondary prevention of eating disorders. This exploratory assessment identifies leverage points where strategic interventions including curriculum development, policies, and practices can be developed to support and sustain secondary preventive clinical behaviors among dentists. (+info)
Evolution of dental school clinics as patient care delivery centers.
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Dental school clinics, originally envisioned as closely similar to private practice, evolved instead as teaching clinics. In the former, graduate and licensed dentists perform the treatment while undergraduate dental students are assigned treatment within their capabilities. In the latter, dental students provide the treatment under faculty supervision. It is generally recognized that the care provided by the teaching clinics is inefficient. However, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, dental school clinics began to pay much more attention to how treatment is rendered. The comprehensive care movement and quality assurance systems are leading towards more efficient patient-centered care. Case studies at the University of Maryland, Columbia University, and University of Louisville describe activities to make their clinic programs more efficient and patient-friendly. This article explores whether the potential exists for faculty to take a direct patient care delivery role in dental clinics in order for those clinics to become efficient patient care delivery systems as originally envisioned in the early part of the twentieth century. (+info)
Eating disorders in the oral health curriculum.
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Due to the oral/systemic nature of eating disorders, this serious health issue requires comprehensive patient assessment and coordinated health treatment. The purpose of this study was to assess the breadth and depth of eating disorder and comprehensive care within the dental and dental hygiene curriculum. Survey data were collected from deans of U.S. dental programs (n=24) and dental hygiene program directors (n=94). Statistically significant differences were observed between dental programs (DP) and dental hygiene programs (DHP) as more DHP reported including anorexia nervosa (p<.001), bulimia nervosa (p<.001), and oral manifestations of eating disorders (p=.003) within their curricula. Clock hours dedicated to these topics ranged from seventeen to thirty-five minutes, with no statistically significant differences observed between DP and DHP. Only 58 percent of DP and 56 percent of DHP included patient communication skills specific to eating disorders. Moreover, DHP were observed dedicating more instruction time for this skill (p=.011). As greater emphasis is placed on oral/systemic health and the provision of comprehensive care, many oral health professionals may not be adequately trained to identify, provide education, and communicate with patients regarding the oral/systemic nature of eating disorders. The findings from this study indicate that there is a need for appropriate training to better prepare oral health professionals for comprehensive patient care. (+info)
Brazilian dental students' perceptions about medical emergencies: a qualitative exploratory study.
(16/40)
Dental students have little understanding about medical emergencies, and there is very little in-depth data about the importance they place on this important area that is fundamental to their professional training. This study aimed to identify the perceptions of a group of undergraduate dental students about the dentistry-medical emergency interface. Twenty undergraduate dental students at the Federal University of Goias, Brazil, took part in this study. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with these students and were interpreted using qualitative content analysis. Two themes emerged from this data analysis: dentistry as a comprehensive health science, and students' knowledge, feelings, and attitudes about medical emergencies in the dental office. Based on the students' perceptions, an interface between dentistry and medical emergencies in the dental office was proposed that is comprised of the following intertwined concepts: 1) dentistry is a health science profession that should focus on the whole patient instead of being limited to the oral cavity; 2) medical emergencies do occur in the dental office, but students' minimal knowledge about these incidents and their etiology causes feelings of insecurity, dissatisfaction, and a limited appreciation of the dentists' responsibility; and 3) the inability to perform proper basic life support (BLS) technique in the dental office is the ultimate consequence. Undergraduate health courses need to develop strategies to teach professionals and students appropriate behavior and attitudes when facing life-threatening emergencies. (+info)