International teaching practices in dental trauma education

Several publications highlight the insufficient knowledge possessed by dentists and dental students regarding the management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs). A lack of clinical experience during Undergraduate (UG) education could explain the reported deficits in managing dental trauma post-graduation. Despite its importance in dentistry, there are very few reports on how, where and who teaches Dental Traumatology (DT) in the UG curriculum. The aim of this study was to investigate teaching practices in DT around the world in UG education.

UG educators involved in DT teaching activities were invited to complete an online questionnaire hosted on Qualtrics®. The survey consisted of close-ended and open-ended questions on their teaching practices in DT. Only one answer per institution was included in the final descriptive analysis.

A total of 203 responses from 164 institutions were obtained from 69 countries. All institutions reported that DT is included in their UG curriculum, and is mainly taught within Paediatric Dentistry and Endodontics. Most teaching and evaluation was delivered in traditional format. The number of contact hours dedicated to DT teaching activities ranged from 2 to 185 h (median = 10). Only 35% of institutions had a unified approach across disciplines. DT was taught as a separate course/module in 23% of the universities. Insufficient exposure to emergency care and the lack of formal clinical exposure to TDI was highlighted by many institutions. The need for a core curriculum was supported by 84% of the institutions with agreement on essential topics required at UG level.

Teaching practices in DT varied internationally. Very few teaching hours were devoted to DT and many institutions identified a need for increased clinical exposure. There was a desire for a standardised coherent approach to DT in the UG education with suggestions to improve educational resources.