These 3-year results demonstrate that rhBMP-2/ACS can be used safely in human patients. Human bone biopsies reveal normal bone formation in areas treated with rhBMP-2/ACS. Endosseous implants placed in these areas were all stable with no radiographic or clinical complications. The results from this study suggest that rhBMP-2/ACS (0.43 mg/ml) can be safely used in tooth extraction sites and in local ridge augmentation procedures and that endosseous dental implants placed in bony areas treated with rhBMP-2/ACS are stable and can be functionally restored without complication.

The reasons that students choose certain specialties may be integral to the quality of specialty programs and the future of those specialties. The Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) has a high percentage (87.6 percent) of students who enroll in postgraduate programs. The goals of this study were to establish a baseline of factors that affect postgraduate program selection at HSDM and to determine if there was a significant difference in factor selection by gender, relationship status, graduation year, or choice to specialize versus choice to pursue advanced training in general dentistry. As a pilot study, we asked HSDM graduates from the classes of 2005 to 2007 to rank the importance of forty-two factors in selecting a field of dentistry and a particular program or institution within a specialty. Overall, students felt that intellectual content, challenging diagnostic problems, and possessing a special skill or talent unique to a specialty were the most important factors in choosing a field of dentistry. Influence of family members in dentistry was ranked as least important. In choice of a certain program or institution within a given field, clinical training and philosophy of training were ranked most highly. Students felt that the opportunity to moonlight was least important. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found regarding gender, relationship status, and students who chose to specialize versus those pursuing advanced general dentistry training.

The objective of this study was to assess the patient safety culture among students, staff, and faculty in seven U.

The shortened preclinical didactic and laboratory exercises in prosthodontics at HSDM affect student anxiety, but not their didactic and clinical performances or their decisions in choosing their graduate program. Problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials help the students to integrate preclinical and clinical knowledge and skills in prosthodontics.

Problem-based learning (PBL) was implemented into the dental curriculum at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) in 1994 with an expectation that this pedagogy would enhance students' critical thinking and communication skills as well as general professional competencies. Previous studies have described several aspects of the outcome of PBL curricula at the predoctoral level. However, there is no information available on the perceptions and performance of PBL graduates during their postdoctoral training in dentistry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of PBL methodology on the performance of HSDM graduates during their postdoctoral training in comparison with their non-HSDM (traditional) co-residents. Surveys containing traditional knowledge-based criteria, preclinical and clinical criteria, and PBL criteria were sent to HSDM graduates from the classes of 2002 through 2004 who were in postgraduate training programs. The HSDM and traditional graduates were asked to evaluate and compare their performance in selected areas with those of their co-residents from either a PBL curriculum or a traditional curriculum. The directors of each program were also asked to assess HSDM graduates relative to other graduates in the program based on the same aspects. Overall, HSDM graduates rated themselves more highly than non-HSDM graduates on all competencies. No significant difference between HSDM and non-HSDM responses was found in general dental knowledge, specialty specific knowledge, preclinical skills, clinical skills, communication with staff, and patient education, whereas significant differences (p<0.05) were found for communication with patients, critical thinking, independent learning, performance in small group settings, self-assessment, and teamwork. The data obtained from the program directors revealed corresponding results. The HSDM graduates' capacity for independent learning was rated as "excellent" by 65.31 percent of the directors and 80.95 percent of the HSDM graduates themselves. These findings suggest that the performance of HSDM graduates during their postdoctoral training met expectations and were similar to non-HSDM graduates for traditional residency program competencies. However, the PBL training appears to provide HSDM graduates with enhanced abilities in independent learning, communication, and cooperation skills.Dr. Thammasitboon is an Instructor,