Teaching Culturally Sensitive Care to Dental Students: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Abstract

Dental schools must prepare future dentists to deliver culturally sensitive care to diverse patient populations, but there is little agreement on how best to teach these skills to students. This article examines this question by exploring the historical and theoretical foundations of this area of education in dentistry, analyzes what is needed for students to learn to provide culturally sensitive care in a dental setting, and identiies the discipline-speciic skills students must master to develop this competence. The problems associated with single-discipline, lecture-based approaches to teaching culturally sensitive care are outlined, and the advantages of an interdisciplinary, patient-centered, skills-based approach to teaching culturally sensitive care are described. The authors advocate for an approach to teaching culturally sensitive care that builds upon learning in the behavioral sciences, ethics, and public health. Component skills and perspectives offered by each of these curriculum areas are identiied, and their contributions to the teaching of culturally sensitive care are described. Finally, the need to consider the timing of this instruction in the dental curriculum is examined, along with instructional advantages associated with an approach that is shared by faculty across the curriculum.

Students Don't Know What They Don't Know: Dental and Oral Health Students' Perspectives on Developing Cultural Competence Regarding Indigenous Peoples

“…Traditional curricula for dental students have a strong focus on restorative and surgical care, and it is unquestionably paramount that students acquire proficiency in clinical procedures and completion of comprehensive medical histories and physical examinations. However, equally important is being able to assess the psychosocial aspects of patients, identify various factors that contribute to oral disease, and develop tailored plans to prevent, treat, and manage oral disease 41 – 43 . Those studies found that students who participated in dental or non‐dental field trips to underserved communities experienced considerable professional and social transformation.…”

To Assess the Competence of Dental Students and Recent Dental Graduates on Dealing With Cultural Barriers Among Their Patients.

“…While there is a published definition of cultural competence and it is widely understood that training in cultural competence is important and necessary [2,28].Rowland et al [3] reported that, at a small number of schools (six of the thirty-four schools participating), the topic was taught in a separate course, while the majority of these schools indicated that cultural competence was presented in several different courses in the school's curriculum. Similarly, Saleh et al [4] found that the majority of dental schools presented these issues in more than one course in the curriculum, although that method of delivery was associated with less thorough coverage of the topic than was instruction at schools where there was a dedicated course for the topic.…”

“…Teaching culturally sensitive care is particularly difficult to implement in a dental school environment; it requires a change in perspective for both students and instructor [2].This show as that teaching cultural competency in the developing future dental professions is extremely important. [9] Conclusion:-…”

“…This is the very build up of the dental treatment [1] . Assessment of medical and dental education has traditionally mostly relied on testing students' ability to acquire and maintain facts and very little on the practical usage [2].In recent times, however, the crucial part of the health care professionals education is mostly recognised through the attainment of appropriate interpersonal communication skills [5]. Communication training is the most effective when taught or carried out to implement within predoctoral education.…”

Ideological roadblocks to humanizing dentistry, an evaluative case study of a continuing education course on social determinants of health

“…Regarding undergraduate dental curricula, efforts should focus on integrating ethical and public health concerns, both transversally and experientially (across the entire curriculum and within practicum) within a patient centered philosophy, as others [ 47 ] have advanced. In addition, interdisciplinary and reflection-based approaches to teaching may provide opportunities for critical discussion on the concepts and issues we have addressed.…”