The teaching of temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain at undergraduate level in Brazilian dental schools

Objectives: Evaluate the way the topics for the study of pain mechanisms in general, and Orofacial Pain (OFP) and temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) more specifically, are addressed in undergraduate courses curricula, and also to verify the existence of specialist OFP/TMD teachers in Brazilian dental schools. Methods: Between July 2010 and January 2011, course Coordinators/Directors of all dental schools duly registered at the Ministry of Education were invited to answer a questionnaire on topics related to OFP/TMD teaching in their institutions. Results: Fifty-three dental schools representatives answered the questionnaire. The study of pain mechanisms was found to cover an average of less than 10% of the courses' total time. Pharmacology, Endodontics and Physiology were identified as the departments usually responsible for addressing pain mechanisms in dental courses. Psychosocial aspects were found to occupy a very small proportion in the syllabi, while most of the content referred to biological or somatic aspects. OFP/TMD is addressed by a specific department in only 28.4% of the participating dental schools, while in most cases (46.3%), OFP/TMD is under the responsibility of the Prosthodontics department. Only 38.5% of respondents indicated that they had a specialist OFP/TMD teacher in their Schools. Conclusion: Among the Brazilian dental schools participating in the study, the teaching of OFP/TMD was found to be insufficient, segmented or with an extremely restricted focus. This initial assessment indicates that Curricular Guidelines for the study of OFP/TMD at undergraduate dental schools should be developed and implemented to facilitate their appropriate inclusion into the curricula and in specific pedagogical projects. .

Transferring ART research into education in Brazil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the teaching of the Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) approach in Brazilian dental schools. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire on this subject was sent to Pediatric Dentistry, Operative Dentistry and Public Health Dentistry professors. The questions approached the followig subjects: the method used to teach ART, the time spent on its teaching, under which discipline it is taught, for how many years ART has been taught and its effect on the DMFT index. RESULTS: A total of 70 out of 202 dental schools returned the questionnaire. The ART approach is taught in the majority of the Brazilian dental schools (96.3 percent), and in most of these schools it is taught both in theory and in clinical practice (62.9 percent). The majority (35.3 percent) of professors teach ART for 8 hours, and most often as part of the Pediatric Dentistry discipline (67.6 percent). It has been taught for the last 7 to 10 years in 34.3 percent of dental schools. Most professors did not observe a change in the DMFT index with this approach. There is a diversity in the teaching of ART in Brazil in terms of the number of hours spent, the teaching method (theory and practice), and the disciplines involved in its teaching. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to address the training of professors in the ART approach for the whole country. An educational model is proposed whereby a standard ART module features as part of other preventive and restorative caries care educational modules. This will facilitate and standardize the introduction and adoption of the ART approach in undergraduate education in Brazil.

Participação de docentes do Curso de Odontologia da Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros- Unimontes em atividades de pesquisa e extensão: estudo retrospectivo / Participation of teachers of the Course of Dentistry of the State University of Montes Claros- Unimontes in activities of research and extension: a retrospective

Este estudo retrospectivo avaliou a participação de docentes do Curso de Odontologia da Universida de Estadual de Montes Claros, Unimontes, em atividades de pesquisa e extensão nos anos de 2005 e 2006. Os dados foram coletados a partir de documentos gerados pela Diretoria de Recursos Humanos da Unimontes. A análise estatística descritiva e o teste de Likelihood Ratio (p<0,05) foram realizados no programa SPSSri11.0. Participaram 21 docentes, sendo a maioria (61,5 por cento) do gênero feminino, distribuídos nas áreas de Clínicas Integradas (5), Endodontia (3), Estomatologia/Patologia Bucal (3), Odontopediatria (2), Periodontia(2), Prótese (2) e Saúde Coletiva (4). No tocante à atuação simultânea em pesquisa e extensão, nos anos de 2005 e 2006, foi observada participação docente de 33 por cento e 47 por cento respectivamente, sem diferenças significativas (p>0,05) entre os anos. Os professores das disciplinas de Odontopediatria (100 por cento), Saúde Coletiva (75 por cento), Clínicas Integradas (60 por cento) e Endodontia (33 por cento) realizaram ações conjuntas de pesquisa e extensão. Já os docentes de Periodontia, Estomatologia/Patologia Bucal e Prótese não participaram simultaneamente de atividades de pesquisa e extensão, no entanto, todos os professores de Estomatologia/Patologia Bucal atuaram em pesquisa. Foram encontradas diferenças significativas (p<0,05) quando comparadas as disciplinas de atuação dos docentes e práticas de pesquisa e/ou extensão. Concluiu-se que importante parcela do grupo avaliado desempenhou atividades de pesquisa e/ou extensão, mas a prática das ações mencionadas pode ser incrementada.

Evaluación de los posgrados de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad de Antioquia entre 1982 - 1995 (desempeño y grado de satisfacción) / Evaluation of postgraduate studies of the School of Dentistry, University of Antioquia, between 1982 - 1995 (performance and degree of satisfaction)

En la investigación "Evaluación de los posgrados de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad de Antioquia entre 1982 y 1995", en la cual participó el 83 por ciento de los egresados, con respecto al desempeño y grado de satisfacción, se encontró que una vez egresados, su desempeño laboral está estrechamente relacionado con dos de los objetivos propuestos para su formación de posgrado, el clínico y el docente, y en el área clínica prima la modalidad privada. El grado de satisfacción con respecto a la formación recibia estuvo entre el 81 y el 95 por ciento, satisfacción que está estrechamente relacionada con sus expectativas en la formación clínica. Con respecto al título, se encontró que existen problemas en su reconocimiento de parte de las asociaciones gremiales, y de algunas instituciones empleadoras. En la entrevista a los mayores empleadores en la ciudad de Medellín, se informó que no existen diferentes entre los egresados de la Universidad de Antioquia y los egresados de otras entidades educativas