Communication is an essential element of the relationship between patient and dentist. Dental schools are required to ensure that undergraduates are adequately trained in communication skills yet little evidence exists to suggest what constitutes appropriate training and how competency can be assessed. This review aimed to explore the scope and quality of evidence relating to communication skills training for dental students. Eleven papers fitted the inclusion criteria. The review found extensive use amongst studies of didactic learning and clinical role-play using simulated patients. Reported assessment methods focus mainly on observer evaluation of student interactions at consultation. Patient involvement in training appears to be minimal. This review recommends that several areas of methodology be addressed in future studies, the scope of research extended to include intra-operative communication, and that the role of real patients in the development of communication skills be active rather than passive.

This paper presents an updated statement on behalf of the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) in relation to proposals for undergraduate Curriculum Structure, Content, Learning, Assessment and Student / Staff Exchange for dental education in Europe. A task force was constituted to consider these issues and the two previous, related publications produced by the Association (Plasschaert et al 2006 and 2007) were revised. The broad European dental community was circulated and contributed to the revisions. The paper was approved at the General Assembly of ADEE, held in Amsterdam in August 2010 and will be updated again in 2015.

This guide provides an overview of research on lecturing, a model of the processes of lecturing and suggestions for improving lecturing, learning from lectures and ways of evaluating lectures. Whilst primarily directed at teachers in the healthcare professions, it is equally applicable to all teachers in higher education. Lectures are the most ubiquitous method of teaching so they are an important part of a teacher's repertoire. Lectures are at least as effective as other methods of teaching at imparting information and explaining. Intention, transmission and output are the basis of a model of lecturing. The key skills of preparing lectures, explaining and varying student activities may be derived from the model. Preparation is based on purposes, content, various structures of lectures and the preparation of audiovisual aids. The essential ingredients of explaining are clarity, interest and persuasion. By varying activities, one can renew attention and develop student learning. Learning from lectures can be improved by teaching students the structure of lectures and methods of listening and note-taking. Student ratings of lectures are useful but over-used and limited ways of evaluating lectures. Equally important is peer review and more important than either student ratings or peer feedback is reflection on the practice of lecturing by individuals and course teams.

Virtual reality simulators are becoming increasingly popular in dental schools across the world. But to what extent do these systems reflect actual dental ability? Addressing this question of construct validity is a fundamental step that is necessary before these systems can be fully integrated into a dental school's curriculum. In this study, we examined the sensitivity of the Simodont (a haptic virtual reality dental simulator) to differences in dental training experience. Two hundred and eighty-nine participants, with 1 (n = 92), 3 (n = 79), 4 (n = 57) and 5 (n = 61) years of dental training, performed a series of tasks upon their first exposure to the simulator. We found statistically significant differences between novice (Year 1) and experienced dental trainees (operationalised as 3 or more years of training), but no differences between performance of experienced trainees with varying levels of experience. This work represents a crucial first step in understanding the value of haptic virtual reality simulators in dental education.

Aim To investigate the effect of qualitatively different types of pedagogical feedback (FB) on the training, transfer and retention of basic manual dexterity dental skills using a virtual reality (VR) haptic dental simulator. Methods Sixty‐three participants (M = 22.7 years; SD = 3.4 years), with no previous dental training, were randomly allocated to one of three groups (n = 21 each). Group 1 received device‐only feedback during the training phase, that is the visual display of the simulator (DFB); Group 2 received verbal feedback from a qualified dental instructor (IFB); and Group 3 received a combination of instructor and device feedback (IDFB). Participants completed four tasks during which feedback was given according to group allocation as well as two skills transfer tests. Skill retention was examined immediately after training, at 1 week and at 1 month post‐test. Results Statistically significant differences were found between the groups in overall performance (P < 0.001) and error (P = 0.006). Post hoc comparisons revealed the IDFB group produced substantially better performance and fewer errors in comparison with DFB and IFB training. This difference translated to improved performance in skill retention and generalisation of knowledge to novel tasks. Conclusion These data indicate that the acquisition and retention of basic dental motor skills in novice trainees is best optimised through a combination of instructor and visual display (VR)‐driven feedback. The results have implications for the utility and implementation of VR haptic technology in dental education.

The processes of development, implementation and perceived usefulness of an objective structured clinical examination in restorative dentistry (OSCE(D)) are reported. An OSCE is a system of assessment. It consists of a set of standardised 'stations'. At each station, a student is tested on a specific clinical task. Each student moves from one station to the next so that by the end of the OSCE, every student has completed every station. The primary purpose of this OSCE was to provide feedback to 49 4th year students on their performance in the clinical areas of conservative dentistry, periodontology and prosthetics. Individual profiles were provided to students and the overall results discussed by staff. There were no significant differences in overall performance between genders or between students in the morning and afternoon examinations. There was a significant difference between performance in prosthetics and the other areas and there were some significant differences among the skill clusters of clinical knowledge, procedures, clinical reasoning, history-taking, techniques and communication. Students and staff perceived the OSCE(D) as a valuable tool for providing feedback. The development of the OSCE and the findings described in this paper will be of value to clinical staff who are developing OSCEs in all areas of dentistry.

The validity and reliability of a newly-developed objective structured clinical examination for 4th year dental students (OSCE(D)) were estimated by a range of quantitative and qualitative methods. The OSCE(D) consisted of 17 stations in conservation, periodontology and prosthetics. A blueprint was used to match the OSCE stations to clinical subject areas and to 7 skill clusters of clinical competence. Repeat measures of skills were undertaken in the OSCE(D) to maximise its validity and reliability. The primary purposes of the OSCE(D) were to assess clinical competence and to provide feedback to students. The results indicate that the OSCE(D) was intrinsically valid and a better predictor of performance in the final examination than either a concurrent 4th-year examination or Advanced-level university entry grades. The OSCE(D) scored relatively highly on internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.68). Intra-domain and inter-domain correlations were high and inter-examiner reliability was relatively high (eta 2 coefficients ranged from 0.00 to 0.10). There were no significant differences between performances in the morning and afternoon sessions of the examination so reproducibility is assumed to be high. Some improvement in individual stations and in inter-examiner reliability are required. A set of recommendations based on the experience of designing and testing a dental OSCE are provided.

This paper presents a proposed curriculum structure and system of European Credit Transfer (ECTS) for undergraduate dental schools throughout Europe. It is the result of the work of a Taskforce ('Taskforce II'), appointed by DentEd, a thematic network of European dental schools and the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE). There has been pan-European discussion of the document in draft stages (it was distributed to 200 dental schools) and following amendment, it was agreed formally at the National Assembly of ADEE in Athens, Greece, in September 2005. The main elements of the paper relate to: (i) a description of the framework proposed with relevance to the Bologna recommendations and common directive on recognition for professional qualifications as they apply to Dentistry; (ii) the structure of an undergraduate dental curriculum; (iii) student exchange and ECTS. In addition, the paper presents a series of requirements, guidelines and recommendations for action. ADEE expects that the 'requirements' proposed will be followed by dental schools in Europe, whilst the 'guidelines' and 'recommendations' also provided are open to local interpretation. The paper is also published on the ADEE website.