Minority students have traditionally been underrepresented in dental schools, which is why enrichment and pipeline programs aimed at helping minority students are necessary. That reality is reflected in their woeful underrepresentation among practicing dentists. Hispanics made up only 5.8 percent of practicing dentists in 2011, according to the…

Attracting and retaining strong faculty members in dental schools have long been challenges in the United States. Faced with an emerging crisis in the availability and quality of dental educators, many researchers have focused on analyzing data and trends related to this subject. Even though there are substantial studies that provide a picture of…

Currently, there is need for change in the way that dental schools in the United States educate their students to keep pace with the rapidly changing nature of the profession and to better address societal needs. Despite a well-documented change agenda put forth by individual authors and agencies both within and outside of dental education,…

Surveyed U.S. and Canadian dental schools to determine the extent to which distance learning and online technologies are being employed. Found that online delivery of content and information has a bright future, as well as formidable obstacles that must be addressed. (EV)

This report presents the analytical results of a survey of U.S. and Canadian dental schools conducted during 1997 by the American Association of Dental Schools. It documents how women's health and oral health issues are addressed in the curriculum. It also presents an annotated bibliography of research involving oral and craniofacial health and…

A survey of the 60 American dental schools was conducted to determine the extent of existing and planned programs in geriatric dentistry. All respondents indicated that they either conduct a gerontology program or plan to conduct one in the future; various educational approaches were reported. (MLW)

Dentistry has evolved from medicine and more especially from the surgical aspect of what is now called medicine. Until the sixteenth century, physic and surgery were separate professions and what we now call dentistry was a part of surgery rather than of physic. For centuries physic was a calling of greater dignity than surgery. Since the major…

A survey of 48 United States and 9 Canadian undergraduate dental school clinics investigated the extent of routine use of screening blood tests for patients, test types used, and plans to increase or decrease screening test use. Six responded that they routinely test asymptomatic patients, with 2-20 tests used per patient. (MSE)

Surveyed U.S. and Canadian dental schools about integration of quality assurance (QA) and risk management (RM) and what mechanisms have been most effective in measuring accomplishments. Main findings included that a majority of schools had a written QA program and committee and many reported significant changes resulting from the program; over…

A survey of Canadian and US dental school admissions offices concerning their use of the admissions interview revealed that use of the interview is increasing, interviewers are generally untrained, and schools use the interview to assess applicants' character, motivation, communication ability, knowledge, and intelligence. (MSE)

Results of a survey of Canadian (n=8) and United States (n=44) dental schools concerning the clinical and didactic curriculum time allotted to preventive dentistry are reported. Comparable time allocation, requirements, and evaluation procedures were found in the two countries, but Canadian schools devote more hours to teaching prevention. (MSE)

A survey to assess the current state of predoctoral endodontic education programs in U.S. and Canadian dental schools is discussed. The investigation focused on faculty characteristics, the learning climate for endodontics, and problems of administration. Current learning conditions were compared with the desirability of these conditions.…

A survey of dental schools revealed little standardization of student requirements for dental radiography in the United States. There was a high degree of variability as to what constituted a full radiographic survey, which has implications concerning the maximum limits to patient exposure to radiation. (Author/MLW)

The growing complexity in the dental profession has contributed to the diversity of current specialities and practice modes. Dental students are seen to need time to explore this diversity of opportunities and plan for their futures. A survey of career assistance programs in U.S. dental schools is reported. (MLW)

A study that forecast the consequences of the projected growth in the number of practicing U.S. physicians during the 1980s and beyond is summarized. Attention was directed to the potential impact of the increasing supply of physicians on physician behavior, the cost of medical services, and access to services. Econometric modeling and analysis of…