Teaching Dental Students to Interact with Survivors of Traumatic Events: Development of a Two‐Day Module

Abstract

Dentists are likely to treat patients who have experienced a wide range of traumatic life events, including child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and exposure to combat. In order to effectively treat survivors of traumatic events, dentists must understand how these patients may present in oral health settings, the basic mandated reporting requirements related to abuse and neglect, and communication strategies to help engage trauma survivors in dental treatment. A traditional lecture-format educational module on trauma-informed care was developed and implemented for second-year dental students (N=92) at one U.S. dental school, after which a needs assessment was performed (all 92 students participated). This assessment then informed development of an enhanced module for the subsequent group of second-year dental students (N=102) at the same school. The revised (inal) module was more interactive in nature, expanded to multiple sessions, and included more discussion of mandated reporting and appropriate dentist-patient communication in relation to traumatic events. All 102 students participated in assessments of the revised module. Comparison of pre and post tests and needs assessments between the initial and inal modules indicated that the extended, more interactive inal module was more effective in meeting the educational objectives. Results showed that the inal module increased the students' knowledge in the health-related manifestations of traumatic events and slightly improved their conidence levels in treating survivors of trauma. Dentists who are prepared to deliver traumainformed care may help individual patients feel more at ease and increase engagement in regular preventive care. Suggestions for future educational efforts in this area are discussed.

Determining Recommendations for Improvement of Communication Skills Training in Dental Education: A Scoping Review

“…The remaining articles primarily examined students’ perceptions of CoST components, such as satisfaction, confidence in the material, or perceived benefit 10 , 20 – 25 . Most of the components assessed in these articles aimed to promote general communication skills, but some included focus on additional topics, such as cultural safety, 11 , 17 , 18 trauma and adverse events, 15 , 25 and nonverbal communication 13 …”

“…A number of course structure‐related considerations were discussed by studies included in this review. The most common of these described the importance of integrating content at appropriate periods throughout the dental curriculum 10 , 15 , 16 . Closely tied to this point was the observation that students with more clinical experience tended to view training as less important or helpful to them, perhaps as a result of having more patient contact 19 , 22 .…”

Dentists awareness and action towards domestic violence patients

“…2 Trauma survivors including DV victims usually are presented to the dental clinic in the acute phase of injury or as a routine dental care appointment showing dental anxiety or unhealthy habits. 15 Dentists are not familiar with DV cases, and including the topic of DV in the dental curriculums will enhance their diagnostic skills and clinical training. 16 Although deferent complex barriers could prevent victims from revealing violence to health care providers, service providers should express acknowledgment and support to victims.…”

Adaptation measures in dental care for children with history of Adverse Childhood Experiences: A practical proposal

“…In a study published by Raja et al, a traditional lecture‐format educational module on TIC was developed and implemented for second‐year dental students at a U.S. dental school. In this study, while students began the module as neutral or somewhat confident in treating survivors of trauma, the results showed that they were in fact unable to appropriately document abuse or understand what would be effective methods for managing such patients 11 …”

“…While child maltreatment is a global problem with severe life‐long consequences, there is scarce information in dentistry regarding the patient's emotional approach in this context. As mentioned by Raja et al, while there are educational efforts related to dentistry and maltreatment, such efforts are focused on training oral health practitioners on mandate reporting 11 . While mandated reporting is important, it is only one aspect of providing quality, necessary, and patient‐centered care.…”