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Associations between practice patterns and dental education in special care dentistry
Author(s) -
Gysling Seana P.,
Taiclet Lynne M.,
Polk Deborah E.
Publication year - 2020
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/jdd.12254
Subject(s) - preparedness , feeling , medicine , dental education , family medicine , perception , dental care , medical education , dentistry , psychology , social psychology , political science , law , neuroscience
Objective The goal of this study is to determine whether alumni who completed training in the Center for Patients with Special Needs (CPSN) feel more prepared and treat more patients with special healthcare needs (SHCN) than alumni who completed training prior to the establishment of the Center (pre‐CPSN). Methods Alumni graduating in 2000–2017 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine (Pitt Dental Medicine) completed a survey addressing how well their dental school training prepared them to treat patients with SHCN and their current practice patterns as dental professionals. Alumni completed self‐reported questionnaires online or on paper by mail. Results The authors obtained a 16% response rate (N = 209; n Pre‐CPSN = 75; n CPSN = 134). Compared with the pre‐CPSN alumni, CPSN alumni reported feeling more prepared in all 12 skills surveyed (t = 4.86, P < 0.05). There was a 0.85‐point difference between groups, on average, across the 12 skills. However, CPSN alumni were no more likely to treat individuals with SHCN than the pre‐CPSN alumni. Conclusions Information obtained from this survey supports the hypothesis that experience is associated with perceptions of preparedness and raises new questions about factors associated with deciding whether to treat or refer. This information may inform schools of the amount of training necessary to reach preparedness goals.