| Literature DB >> 33420457 |
Elva L McGleenon1, Susan Morison2.
Abstract
Introduction The governing bodies for dentistry in the UK and Ireland require dentists, at graduation, to possess the knowledge, skills and attributes which enable them to practise safely, without supervision. The means by which dental schools achieve this may differ and may undergo modification in response to changes in the expectations of governing bodies and challenges within the teaching environment. It is therefore important to identify which of these approaches works well and to disseminate good practice described in the literature.Objectives To use a scoping review to identify from the published literature the methods used to teach clinical dental skills, including innovations, motivations for changes, and factors affecting the delivery and quality of teaching.Method Scoping review methodology was used to select and analyse 57 articles published between 2008 and 2018.Results Innovations in didactic teaching were facilitated by advances in IT and development of virtual learning environments, which promoted independent, self-directed learning. Pre-clinical practical teaching took place in clinical techniques laboratories utilising mannequin heads, with a minority of dental schools using virtual reality simulators in addition. Clinical experience was gained mainly in multi-disciplinary clinics and offsite outreach teaching centres. Insufficient numbers of suitable patients, increasing student numbers and a fall in teaching staff contributed to a reported reduction in clinical experience of certain treatments.Conclusions Contemporary clinical dental skills teaching produces new graduates who possess excellent theoretical knowledge, are prepared and confident in basic clinical skills, but are lacking in experience of complex treatments which may result in a reduced preparedness for independent practice.Entities:
Mesh:
Year: 2021 PMID: 33420457 PMCID: PMC7791324 DOI: 10.1038/s41415-020-2505-7
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Br Dent J ISSN: 0007-0610 Impact factor: 1.626
Selection protocol
| Inclusion criteria for population and context | Exclusion criteria |
|---|---|
| Peer-reviewed journal article | Postgraduate participants |
| Conference papers | Non-UK and Ireland dental schools |
| Full text available in English online | Publication before 2008 |
| Publication date range around 2008 to present | Articles where student population included postgraduates |
| BDS or equivalent undergraduates (any year group) | Articles where student population included other students of other courses |
| Clinical dental skills teaching (any clinical discipline) | |
| Teaching innovation (any type) | |
| UK and Ireland dental schools |
Fig. 1PRISMA diagram summarising the results of the selection process
Fig. 2Article distribution by university affiliation of lead author
Fig. 3Distribution of reviewed articles by clinical discipline
Fig. 4Article distribution according to theme