Selameab, Tehout

Background: Graduates of U.S. dental schools must meet curriculum and competency requirements set by the school and by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. Little is known about the impact of this training on recent alumni in practice. This cross-sectional study surveyed recent alumni about their preparedness and comfort in treating the oral health needs of children before and after a curriculum change in the predoctoral pediatric dental clinical course. Results were used to inform future curriculum improvement. Methods: Five classes of dental school alumni were surveyed at least 6 mo after graduation. Information about their practice setting, patient pool demographics, comfort and preparedness in diagnosing and treating common pediatric oral health conditions, and open-ended thoughts on caring for the oral health needs of children were obtained. Responses were analyzed before and after a curriculum change that introduced predoctoral students to patient care in the graduate pediatric dental clinic. Results: Electronic and mailed paper surveys were sent to 552 alumni, with 218 (39.3%) returned. A majority (91.1%) reported seeing pediatric dental patients in practice. There was no difference in the incidence of seeing pediatric patients before or after the curriculum change. Participants reported high comfort and confidence in diagnosing pediatric oral health conditions, and there were no significant differences seen pre or post intervention. Conclusions: Surveyed alumni reported similar comfort levels in diagnosing and treating common pediatric oral health conditions both before and after the curriculum change. General dentist alumni still struggle with recommending that the first dental visit happen at the eruption of the first tooth or the child’s first birthday. More information is needed to assess how to educate competent clinicians in a predoctoral setting. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The recommendations from this article can be used by dental educators to improve clinical and didactic teaching and to ensure dental learners’ education and competency.

Background: U.S. dental school graduates must complete competencies in oral health care across the life course. While they have met these requirements, little is known about graduates’ assessment of how this training prepared them for practice. Future practice setting may affect the training needs of dental school graduates. This quality improvement survey looked at alumni narratives regarding their predoctoral training in pediatric dentistry, the adequacy of this training, how practice setting influenced their training needs, and what recommendations they would make for curriculum change. Methods: As part of a larger survey, semi-structured interviews were conducted of 14 recent alumni in general dental practice; the questions covered their graduation year, current practice setting, recollection of their predoctoral pediatric dental training, the adequacy of that training, and recommendations on how to prepare future graduates to care for pediatric dental patients. Interviews were transcribed and assessed for these themes. Results: Half of the practitioners were in private practice, and half worked in rural or community clinics. Recent alumni felt comfortable and confident treating the oral health needs of a pediatric population but overwhelmingly said that they wanted more hands-on experience in dental school. They especially highlighted the need to see patients with challenging behavior and more complex operative treatment needs. Alumni working in rural areas or community clinics emphasized the need for these skills because of the lack of referral options. Conclusions: Recent alumni wish they had had more hands-on pediatric dental experiences in dental school to better prepare them for the challenges they face in practice. These experiences may be limited, and one suggestion would be to channel these opportunities to practitioners who will work in areas where there are insufficient resources and fewer options for referral. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The recommendations from this article can be used by dental educators to improve clinical and didactic teaching and to ensure dental learners’ education and competency.