Creating a New Generation of Pediatric Dentists: A Paradigm Shift in Training

Abstract

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry has implemented a Health Resources and Services Administration‐funded program to prepare dentists for the complex and comprehensive needs of pediatric patients within rapidly changing demographics and a paradigm shift in dentistry. Traditional dental education has focused on how to respond to oral disease, whereas UCLA's program shifts the paradigm to emphasize early assessment, risk‐based prevention, and disease management. A holistic approach to dental care that considers social and environmental determinants is used with minimally invasive techniques for restorative care. To support this change, pediatric dental residents receive traditional training combined with new didactics, advocacy opportunities, and applied learning experiences at community‐based organizations. These new elements teach residents to recognize the causal factors of disease and to identify interventions that promote oral health at the individual, family, community, and policy level. Consequently, they are better prepared to treat a diverse group of patients who historically have faced the greatest burden of disease as well as an increased number of barriers to accessing oral health care; these consist of low‐income, minority, and/or pediatric populations including children with special health needs. The program's ultimate goal is for residents to deploy these skills in treating vulnerable populations and to demonstrate greater interest in collaborating with non‐dental health providers and community organizations to increase access to dental services in private or public health practice settings.

The future of pediatric dentistry education and curricula: a Chilean perspective

“…In particular, participants highlighted the need to incorporate teaching about social determinants of health (i.e., gender, race/ethnic discrimination, etc. ), about children’s rights and local laws and practices, and other complementary skills to provide a solid base for advocacy [ 20 ]. Advocacy was seen as a most powerful instrument to address social, economic and environmental inequalities.…”

Survey of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Brazilian Dentists Regarding Silver Diamine Fluoride

“…Considering that substantial gaps exist in oral health outcomes, due to the fact that minorities, or those of low socioeconomic status, have reduced access to care, SDF promises to become an invaluable tool for low-cost and effective caries management [8]. Thus, knowing that the use of SDF was very widespread in the 1980s/1990s in Brazil, but fell into disuse, probably because of aesthetic concerns, the objective of this survey was to understand the current acceptability, barriers to use, and clinical and teaching practices of SDF among dentists registered in the RJ Regional Council of Dentistry (CRO-RJ).…”

Campus‐Based, Community‐Based, and Philanthropic Contributions to Predoctoral Pediatric Dental Clinical Education: Two Years of Experiences at One Dental College

“…The second purpose of this report is to propose a comprehensive approach to predoctoral education in pediatric dentistry. A model for postdoctoral education in pediatric dentistry, incorporating non‐traditional elements now considered critical to successful practice, was recently reported by Ramos‐Gomez et al 15 Our brief report also presents a workable model of predoctoral education that addresses the oft‐conflicting issues of quality and contemporaneity of care, realistic expectations for student achievement of competence, and the less obvious influences on graduates’ treatment of children in practice.…”