Appropriate dental training

Primary dental health care has emerged as an important concept, particularly in the poor countries of the world, where dentistry as currently practised has not proved capable of controlling oral disease. Training for primary dental health care provision must be shaped to meet the specific needs of countries and communities. It demands a reorientation of those objectives which are conventional in dental teaching and the development of new attitudes on the part of teachers. Training must aim at self-development in which the ability to achieve simple goals is to the fore. The formulation of plans, the activities which result from them and the evaluation of their effects must be central to the teaching philosophy. Training must aim to develop competency in individual workers. This can best be generated by the use of field exercises. Teachers must not just deliver packages of information but they should develop a climate favourable to self-learning and use resources in a manner which allow students to recognise their own growth and development. Appropriate methods for achieving these goals are reviewed.