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A review of the hours dedicated to oral health education in medical programmes across Australia
Author(s) -
Abbott Bronwyn,
Zybutz Cian,
Scott Karen M.,
Eberhard Joerg,
Widmer Richard
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
internal medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 1444-0903
DOI - 10.1111/imj.14021
Subject(s) - medicine , curriculum , oral health , family medicine , disease , periodontal disease , health education , oral and maxillofacial pathology , dentistry , public health , nursing , pathology , psychology , pedagogy
Background Oral health is an important predictor for general health, and poor oral health is interrelated with the manifestations of systemic disease. Aim To determine the extent of oral health education in medical schools across Australia. Methods A survey of Australian medical schools was conducted (September 2013 to June 2014). Participants were administrators and curricula coordinators of medical programmes. The main outcome measures were teaching hours of specific areas of oral health education. Data were descriptively analysed. Results Participants from 8 of 18 universities responded to the questionnaire. The total hours dedicated to oral health in the medical programmes were: zero in one school; less than 2 h in three schools, 6–10 h in three schools and 30 h in one school. Only four schools taught the correlation between oral health and overall health, two schools taught about dental diseases (caries and periodontal disease), three schools taught dental trauma management and six schools taught oral anatomy. Only five schools taught about oral cancer: two of these taught about cancer for 10–15 min. No school reported hands‐on training in an oral health setting. Conclusions The results indicate that Australian medical school graduates have little, if any, foundational knowledge of oral health (dental caries, bidirectional relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease, oral cancer and dental emergencies). The recognition of poor oral health plays a significant part in the early detection and care of chronic diseases. The teaching of fundamental oral health to medical students is crucial and should be integrated into medical school curricula.