US students’ perceptions on environmental sustainability in dental school

Abstract

Objectives At present, there are no published reports assessing pre‐doctoral curricular experience or participatory involvement with Environmental Sustainability in Dentistry (ESD) in the United States. This study aims to assess whether students enrolled in US dental schools receive any training with ESD and gauge dental students’ level of interest and attitudes regarding ESD within their dental education. Methods A descriptive cross‐sectional study utilizing a 16‐questions validated survey was conducted on Qualtrics. Data analysis included descriptive statistics. Results A total of 378 dental students from 17 US dental schools participated (response rate 5%). Students reported that ESD was “quite” or “extremely” important (83%). However, 75% of students reported being “not at all” or “slightly” knowledgeable. Only 5% reported ESD content in their dental education. Students suggested that ESD could be integrated into existing coursework relating to infection control, practice management, and dental public health. Conclusion By understanding students’ level of interest, attitudes toward importance, and current level of curricular content on ESD, dental educators can develop best practices for educating future practitioners on environmental sustainability.

Exploring the Perception of Dental Undergraduate Students and Faculty on Environmental Sustainability in Dentistry: A Cross-Sectional Survey in 26 Dental Schools in Saudi Arabia

“…The findings were consistent with previously published studies in the literature that have explored this topic [ 16 , 17 ]. Gershberg et al conducted a cross-sectional study including 378 dental students from 17 dental schools in the United States [ 17 ].…”

Exploring the Perception of Dental Undergraduate Students and Faculty on Environmental Sustainability in Dentistry: A Cross-sectional Survey in 26 Dental Schools in Saudi Arabia

“…The findings were consistent with previously published studies in the literature who has explored this topic [15,16]. Gershberg et al conducted a cross-sectional study including 378 dental students from 17 dental schools in the United States [16].…”

“…The findings were consistent with previously published studies in the literature who has explored this topic [15,16]. Gershberg et al conducted a cross-sectional study including 378 dental students from 17 dental schools in the United States [16]. Despite the low response rate (5%), they found that although the majority of students thought that ESD is important, the majority of them were 'slightly' to 'not at all' knowledgeable about it.…”

Consensus on Environmentally Sustainable Oral Healthcare A Joint Stakeholder Statement

“…There is a growing recognition of the need to urgently raise awareness of sustainability at the formative stage of individual's professional education. This requires the integration of concepts and remediation strategies in the undergraduate curricula of dental education, with current important pioneering work highlighting academic progress and student representation [47,48,49].…”

“…In the oral healthcare undergraduate curricula, there is a need to increase awareness and sustainable impactful actions through carefully channelled educational programmes, a process that is currently underway that considers how sustainability can be included in the undergraduate dental curriculum [47,48,49]. This needs to be provided from an early point in the curriculum with an opportunity to share best practice with other dental schools.…”