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Undergraduate Education in Special Needs Dentistry in Malaysian and Australian Dental Schools
Author(s) -
Ahmad Mas S.,
Razak Ishak A.,
Borromeo Gelsomina L.
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.0022-0337.2014.78.8.tb05786.x
Subject(s) - medicine , curriculum , competence (human resources) , family medicine , dental education , oral health , dental care , dentistry , oral medicine , special needs , medical education , oral health care , population , psychology , pedagogy , environmental health , social psychology , psychiatry
Meeting the oral health care needs of the growing population of people with special health care needs (SHCN) starts with dental students’ acquisition of sound knowledge and development of clinical competence at the predoctoral level. The aim of this study was to review the level of undergraduate education in Special Needs Dentistry (SND) in Malaysian and Australian dental schools. The deans of all six Malaysian public dental schools and eight of nine Australian dental schools participated in a postal survey on current undergraduate didactic and clinical training in SND at their institutions. The results showed the number of dental schools in Malaysia with teaching in SND as a specific discipline was relatively low compared to that of Australia. However, a high percentage of Malaysian and Australian dental schools reported incorporating teaching of SND into pediatric dentistry (83.3 percent vs. 75 percent), oral medicine/oral pathology (66.7 percent vs. 75 percent), and oral surgery (66.7 percent vs. 25 percent). Most respondents said their school delivered SND clinical training in dental school clinics, hospital‐based settings, and residential aged care facilities. Respondents in both countries viewed lack of faculty expertise as the greatest barrier to providing SND education. The study provides valuable information that can direct SND curriculum development in the two countries.