This project was conducted to develop a curriculum for dental auxiliary training in the dental specialty field of oral and maxillofacial surgery. Research was conducted to identify the major functions performed by an oral surgery assistant and then to organize these functions into an educational program that would provide adequate didactic and…

Practice-as-inquiry refers to the blending of instructional practice with systematic curricular inquiry. College and university teachers, while experts in their disciplines, typically are not specialists in instructional practice. Practice-as-inquiry (also referred to as teacher-as-researcher) may function as a mechanism of continuous teaching…

The practice of comprehensive or total patient care at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry student clinics is described. In response to current reviews the system is preparing for innovations designed to enhance the delivery of care and maximize the student educational experience. (MLW)

Three common arguments against formal classes in professional ethics are examined. A minimum curriculum in dental professional ethics is proposed and a proposed program in professional ethics in dentistry is appended. (MLW)

An instructional approach to pathogenic microbiology appropriate for dental medicine, which was developed by the University of Texas, is described. This approach is perceived by the students as relevant to their needs, and it increases the instructor's awareness to emphasize the oral aspects of the infectious diseases. (Author/MLW)

To treat the elderly more competently and to provide clinical training to undergraduates simultaneously, a geriatric dental program was initiated in 1976 at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry. The program's current status and operation are described. (Author/MLW)

The implications of Americans' oral health status for the predoctoral dental curriculum and for dental education in general are discussed, including enrollments, graduate and continuing education, the specialties, and research. (MSE)

Sensing a need for change in the dentistry curriculum, faculty members from the School of Dentistry of the University of Louisville met with educational and psychological consultants with the purpose of updating the present didactic and organizational program. A Discrepancy Analysis System (DAS), also called Cognitive Dissonance, was chosen to…

A report is presented on the evaluation and redevelopment of an 11-module course of instruction in restorative dentistry conducted under Project Acorde. The major learning goals for students were: acquisition of the necessary skills and knowledge of appropriate tools and materials; and self-appraisal of one's own work in performing the various…

The University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, has begun the process of evaluating a strategic plan through the design of a performance evaluation system. Renovation of the predoctoral curriculum focused on decompressing the curriculum, adding flexibility, and improving basic science instruction and the clinical experience. (MLW)

Columbia University's plan to strengthen the education of the general dentist is the result of the school's academic leaders and faculty's success in visualizing the benefits of three concepts: broadening the medical content of the core curriculum, increasing educational opportunities in nonspecialty career paths, and providing a postdoctoral…

Six ways a dentist can profit from the basic sciences are: (1) increased sensitivity to the environment, (2) improved judgment, (3) better explanations to patients, (4) enhanced ability to learn, (5) improved communication with health professionals, and (6) greater role diversity. Literature is reviewed related to mental processes. (Author/MLW)

The strategic plan developed for the future of Oregon Health Sciences University School of Dentistry has as a major thrust the addition of a fifth-year extramural preceptorship to the program. Reinvigoration of the minority recruitment program, initiation of an early entry admissions track, and curriculum revision are additional goals. (MLW)

Based on recognized health care needs, a curriculum revision was undertaken at the College of Pharmacy at Saudi Arabia's University of Riyadh. The revised curriculum included a unified basic health sciences core program for Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Allied Medical Sciences. (Author/MLW)

Details evolution of a Boston University (Massachusetts) dental school program providing field experience in private practices, community health centers, hospital-based ambulatory health centers, health maintenance organizations, and the school's predoctoral treatment centers. Issues discussed include integration of classroom and field learning,…