Educating medical students in oral health care: current curriculum and future needs of institutions in Malaysia and Australia

Poor oral health has been associated with compromised general health and quality of life. To promote comprehensive patient management, the role of medical professionals in oral health maintenance is compelling, thus indicating the need for educational preparation in this area of practice. This study aimed to determine the extent of training in oral health in Malaysian and Australian medical schools. An audio-recorded semi-structured phone interview involving Academic Programme Directors in Malaysian (n = 9, response rate=81.8%) and Australian (n = 7, response rate = 35.0%) medical schools was conducted during the 2014/2015 and 2014 academic years, respectively. Qualitative data was analysed via thematic analysis, involving coding and grouping into emerging themes. Quantitative data were measured for frequencies. It was found that medical schools in Malaysia and Australia offered limited teaching of various oral health-related components that were mostly integrated throughout the curriculum, in the absence of structured learning objectives, teaching methodologies and assessment approaches. Barriers to providing oral health education included having insufficient expertise and overloaded curriculum. As medical educators demonstrated support for oral health education, collaboration amongst various stakeholders is integral to developing a well-structured curriculum and practice guidelines on oral health management involving medical professionals.

Development of a rural outplacement programme for dental undergraduates: students' perceptions

OBJECTIVES

To describe the development and implementation of a new rural dental outplacement module in the final year curriculum and report initial student perceptions.

METHODS

The Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, introduced a required 4-week rural outplacement [termed Rural Dental Rotation (RDR)] in July 2006 to provide education and clinical training to all final year students. Seventy dental students (Bachelor of Dental Science and Bachelor of Oral Health) were rostered in groups of 6-10 students to Shepparton (Victoria, Australia), from July 2006 to June 2007 for 4 weeks per group. Students were introduced to the culture and oral health needs of the indigenous population in the region, and were involved in oral health promotion in specific health programmes. At the end of each roster students provided feedback of their experiences through a voluntary anonymous questionnaire.

RESULTS

The RDR offered a rural learning experience to all final year dental undergraduates and also provided dental services to the local community on a continuing basis. Students agreed that the RDR was a worthwhile experience (mean 4.77 +/- 0.46 on 1-5 scale) and was 'enjoyable' (mean 4.71 +/- 0.45). There was only one student who did not consider rural practice in future. This was because of family reasons. The majority (79.1%) expressed definite affirmation, whereas some (19.4%) indicated the possibility of taking up rural practice.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall feedback indicated that the students found it a very positive and enjoyable experience. It provided an opportunity to appreciate cultural safety and understand the specific oral health needs of indigenous Australians. The key benefit of such a programme to the community is the increased likelihood of attracting new dental graduates to rural areas.

Tooth movement during processing of complete dentures and its relation to palatal form

Tooth movement during processing of acrylic resin complete dentures was investigated in relation to palatal form. Eleven clinical casts were radiographed at four denture-processing stages. Seven points were located across each cast. Radiographs were digitized and the images obtained were processed and analyzed for precise measurement of tooth movement. A palatal form index was developed. With respect to a relationship between tooth movement and palatal form, certain trends were found with varying degree and direction, shedding light on the behavior of base material and the dimensional changes that occurred during processing.