Learning from the present to educate the future: dental education and EBDM

Evidence-based dental medicine (EBDM) has progressed significantly since being brought to dentistry in the early 1990s. This has included direct influence on the scientific and clinical literature, research, and patient care. Importantly, it has also had widespread impact on dental education, including curriculum content, patient care, and research within the formal dental educational environment. This article discusses and describes some of the areas of EBDM influence on dental education, as well as offering a model for integrated EBDM education. Dental education is preparing a new generation of practitioners that will have the skills to integrate the tools of EBDM into their clinical practice, to foster a commitment to their lifelong learning, and as a life tool.