Challenges influencing the future of endodontics. New technologies for endodontic education.

The major challenge of contemporary dental education is teaching students to transfer their acquired knowledge from one setting to another. New technology-based educational tools such as IMPACT, Interactive Multimedia Patient Case Tutor, developed at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, can assist in this educational paradigm shift by teaching students basic science in the context of patient dental problems. The interactivity of technology as used in the IMPACT program links students' basic science knowledge base to the description, understanding and solution of patient problems.