Gerodontology as a dental specialty in Brazil: What has been accomplished after 15 years?

Abstract

<p>Fifteen years ago, as a response to its rapidly aging population, Brazil was the first country to recognize gerodontology as a dental specialty. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the outcomes of this change by examining the increase in number of advanced gerodontology-trained dentists and identifying the volume of gerodontology-related research that has been published. The Brazilian Dental Board web site was searched in order to verify the number of specialists in gerodontology and their geographic distribution. In order to provide a quantitative assessment of the number of gerodontology-related graduate programs generated since the specialty was recognized, three sites were searched: a) the government database for post-graduate theses, which compiles all theses and dissertations completed as part of the requirements of accredited post-graduate courses in Brazil; b) the Brazilian Dental Library (Biblioteca Brasileira de Odontologia, BBO), which compiles papers published in Portuguese; and c) the PubMed database. Recognizing gerodontology as a dental specialty in Brazil required advanced training programs to be developed in geriatrics and gerodontology. The current number of specialists in gerodontology (276) is still lower than the needs of the Brazilian dental workforce.. Recognition of the specialty seems to have resulted in a significant increase in gerodontology-related research; however, this growth coincides with an overall increase in research in Brazil and is less extensive than for other specialties, which were recognized at the same time. More still needs to be done to add gerodontology to dental school curricula, even though a significant number of schools do teach the discipline.</p>

Higher education in Gerodontology in European Universities

“…Brazil recognized Gerodontology as a specialty in 2001, but until December 2015 only 275 dentists had successfully graduated, while very few schools reported teaching Gerodontology at the undergraduate level, mainly within Prosthodontics [27, 28]. A web-survey in Chile has shown that 84% of the dental schools taught some aspects of Gerodontology in the undergraduate curricula [29], while in Australia Gerodontology is not currently a significant component of dental curricula [30].…”

A Teaching Tool for Establishing Risk of Oral Health Deterioration in Elderly Patients: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation at a U.S. Dental School

“…Examples include more heavily restored dentitions, wearing removable dentures, poor oral hygiene related to systemic health problems, gingival recession with subsequent root exposure, and xerostomia (often related to polypharmacy). 31,32 However, we found no published research about learning strategies to teach dental students how to assess the risk of ROHD. Additionally, these are important risk factors to be considered when treatment planning, predicting treatment outcomes, and selecting a dental maintenance schedule.…”

“…Theoretical knowledge about the risk factors involved in ROHD is already extensively taught at geriatric dentistry programs. 31,32 However, we found no published research about learning strategies to teach dental students how to assess the risk of ROHD. We also found no published research, other than Marshall et al, about how to evaluate students' performance in assessing the risk of ROHD.…”

Postdoctoral Teaching of Geriatric Dentistry in U.S. Dental Schools

“…17,18 Brazil was followed by New Zealand and Australia in 2003, which have three-year graduate programs for a degree of Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Special Needs Dentistry, which includes geriatrics. 17,18 Brazil was followed by New Zealand and Australia in 2003, which have three-year graduate programs for a degree of Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Special Needs Dentistry, which includes geriatrics.…”

“…In 2001, Brazil became the first country to establish a specialty in geriatric dentistry although it has not established fellowships or master's programs. 17,18 Brazil was followed by New Zealand and Australia in 2003, which have three-year graduate programs for a degree of Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Special Needs Dentistry, which includes geriatrics. 19 These programs are at the University of Otago in New Zealand and three Australian universities: University of Adelaide, University of Melbourne, and University of Sydney.…”