An Overview of Pedagogical Approaches to Caries-Control Medications in Canadian Dental and Dental Hygiene Programs

To investigate pedagogical approaches and perceived barriers to teaching about caries-control medications, particularly silver diamine fluoride (SDF), in Canadian undergraduate dental and dental hygiene programs.

In summer 2018, a 9-item questionnaire was distributed to all 10 dental schools and 32 dental hygiene programs in Canada. It enquired about the types of caries-control medications used, teaching methods and perceived barriers to instruction on managing active caries with SDF.

In summer 2018, a 9-item questionnaire was distributed to all 10 dental schools and 32 dental hygiene programs in Canada. It enquired about the types of caries-control medications used, teaching methods and perceived barriers to instruction on managing active caries with SDF.

The response rate was 80% (n = 8) from dental schools and 72% (n = 23) from dental hygiene programs. All curricula included information about conventional caries-control medications: fluoride, silver nitrate and povidone iodine. In all programs, instruction regarding SDF was predominantly didactic: 93% of programs presented lectures on SDF and 30% of programs included clinical teaching and use of SDF in primary dentition only. The lack of consensus on clinical protocols outlining the number and frequency of SDF applications to arrest caries was cited by 43% of the programs as a barrier to clinical teaching.

There is some variation across Canada in pedagogical approaches to caries-control medications and the inclusion of SDF in curricula. Poorly defined clinical protocols were reported as the main barrier to didactic and clinical use of SDF in undergraduate dental education programs.