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An Online Alcohol and Oral Health Curriculum for Dental Students
Author(s) -
Miller Peter M.,
Ravenel Michele C.,
Mauldin Mary P.,
Sulkowski Stanley,
Lowndes Arden,
Thomas Suzanne E.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1930-7837
pISSN - 0022-0337
DOI - 10.1002/j.0022-0337.2014.78.1.tb05652.x
Subject(s) - curriculum , pace , psychological intervention , heavy drinking , oral health , medical education , medicine , psychology , family medicine , medical emergency , nursing , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , pedagogy , geodesy , geography
Regular heavy alcohol use can cause or worsen several oral health disorders and is associated with complications during and after dental procedures. Dental student education should provide detailed knowledge of these issues together with skills needed to detect and counsel patients with unhealthy drinking patterns. This project was designed to develop and evaluate a five–module, online program to teach dental students about alcohol and oral health, systemic and oral biological effects of heavy drinking, required changes to treatment protocols for heavy drinkers, reliable methods of alcohol screening, and ways to provide heavy drinkers with brief interventions. Results indicated that the online program resulted in significant changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. This online format could easily be incorporated into an already crowded dental school curriculum, with students learning the material at their own pace and in their own available time.