Teaching Dental Students About Incarceration and Correctional Dentistry: Results from a National Survey

People who are incarcerated or have a history of incarceration have high rates of dental disease, but access to dental treatment is often a challenge during and after incarceration. Dental students' exposure to this population is unknown: no data exist regarding the number of schools that provide didactic and clinical training in correctional dentistry. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of instruction in correctional dentistry and clinical opportunities at correctional facilities for dental students in the U.S. A survey was distributed to the academic deans at all 66 U.S. dental schools in 2017. Respondents were asked if their institutions had curricular content on correctional health and if they provided clinical opportunities in the correctional setting. Respondents from 30 schools completed the survey, for a response rate of 45%. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents said their institutions offered didactic instruction on the impact of incarceration on health, and eight schools offered a clinical experience at a correctional facility. The most common format was a community-based dental externship involving fourth-year dental students. Oral exams, prophylaxis, and extractions were the most common procedures performed. Respondents from schools that offered a clinical experience agreed more strongly than those that did not that exposure to correctional health care was important and that their students believed incarceration to be a social determinant of health. This study found that a substantial proportion of dental schools offered didactic education on correctional health, but a much smaller number offered student rotations in correctional facilities.