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)

Studied the smoking cessation attitudes and practices of 244 fourth-year dental students through a self-report survey. Students generally endorsed tobacco prevention practices, but perceived barriers to service provision. Findings show the receptivity of students to smoking cessation education and the need to include cessation counseling training…

A dentistry program at Case Western Reserve University, designed to enable high school seniors to accelerate their education and to earn both the B.S. and D.D.S. degrees in six years, is described. The undergraduate performance of students and the performance in dental school of all students are described. (Author/MLW)

The acute deficiency in the number of clinical dental faculty who are trained to do high-quality research is discussed. There is a paucity of role models for research in dental schools. Students at dental schools have no opportunity to gain first hand knowledge of how dentist-scientists function. (MLW)

Steps in establishment of Indiana University School of Dentistry's quality assurance program included gathering existing information on quality assurance; ascertaining administrative support; appointing a committee; defining terms and setting goals; raising awareness and commitment; designing a patient satisfaction survey; undertaking a chart…

The University of Southern California School of Dentistry opened an evening dental clinic to accommodate patient scheduling needs. It found that faculty and students overwhelmingly supported the clinic hours and that a new clientele emerged. (MSE)

Abstracts of presentations concerning educational research and new programs to be made at the 62nd annual meeting of the American Association of Dental Schools (Las Vegas, March 17-20, 1985) are given. (MSE)

Models for associate and bachelors degree programs training dental hygienists are proposed as a step in eliminating technical training for dental hygiene education and in delineating roles for the graduates of two- and four-year programs. They outline clinical and professional skills, practice settings, and supervision levels for each group. (MSE)

Since 1984 the Pew National Dental Education Program has worked to bring long-term change in the U.S. system of dental education by enhancing individual dental schools' ability to understand the changing health care and higher education environments and assist them in redirecting program policies and budgets in response. (MSE)

American dental schools were surveyed to determine the state of development of programs in medical emergencies in the dental curriculum. Results show that programs for teaching the diagnosis and management of medical emergencies are seriously underdeveloped in dental schools. (MLW)

An office-based continuing education program on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) for dentists is described, including needs assessment, model development, local piloting, national implementation with 119 dentists, and evaluation phases. Program evaluation indicated an improvement in risk perception, knowledge, and practice resulted, but…

Inherent in the meaning of baccalaureate dental hygiene education is the offering of upper-division courses in the theory and practice of dental hygiene itself. Restructuring the associate programs as strictly two-year, lower-division programs would require standardization of baccalaureate programs as strictly upper-division curricula. (MLW)

A review of the history and current status of both the predoctoral dental curriculum and general dentistry programs gives insight into the nature and scope of the movement to make postdoctoral dental education a requirement. (MSE)

A foundation program to bring research on health services and policy issues into the domain of clinical scholarship is described. The principal approach is to train young clinicians for academic careers with major responsibilities in health studies at university health sciences centers. (MSE)

A comprehensive program for reducing student stress at the Behavioral Science Department of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine is described. Components include the school's overall orientation, the student advising and counseling system, and student-oriented programs and courses. (Author/MLW)