Expert consensus on Didactic Clinical Skills Development for orthodontic curricula

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Orthodontic Curriculum Development
• Cognitive Skills Assessment

Background:

• Defining competence for new dentists and orthodontists is challenging for academic programs.
• Identifying specific cognitive levels required for competence is crucial for curriculum design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the Didactic Clinical Skills Development curriculum content for predoctoral and advanced orthodontic education.
• To establish the required competency levels for these programs.

Main Methods:

• A modified Delphi method was used with an expert panel of academic orthodontists.
• A 70% consensus threshold was applied to determine agreement on curriculum content and cognitive levels.

Main Results:

• All 24 identified subtopics were deemed necessary for the curriculum.
• Predoctoral dental education requires a cognitive level of 'understand'.
• Advanced orthodontic education requires a cognitive level of 'evaluate'.

Conclusions:

• Consensus was reached on essential didactic clinical skills content and cognitive domains for competence.
• This provides a framework for designing and evaluating orthodontic curricula.
• The findings support a tiered approach to cognitive skill development in dental and orthodontic training.