COVID-19 pandemic and impact on dental education: perception of Brazilian dental students

Aim: The aim of the present study is to assess the perception of undergraduate students on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Brazilian dental education. Methods: This crosssectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire hosted in Google Forms platform and publicized on Instagram® and Facebook®. The questionnaire was available between July 8-27, 2020. Absolute and relative frequencies were obtained for variables of interest using Pearson's chi-squared and considering 95% confidence intervals. Prevalence of learning resource variables according to self-reported skin color, educational institution, and Brazilian region were presented using equiplots. Results: A total of 1,050 undergraduate dental students answered the questionnaire. Most students reported being in full-distance learning mode. Among the undergraduate students, 65.4% reported perceiving a very high impact in dental education, and 16.6% of students reported not being able to follow distance learning. In addition, 14% reported not having a personal laptop or desktop to study with, with this condition being more prevalent among non-white than white individuals. Conclusion: We conclude that Brazilian dental students perceived a high impact of COVID-19 on dental education, as well as one-sixth of the students reported not having adequate resources to continue with distance learning. It is important that different policies are developed at the institutional and governmental levels to reduce the impact of the pandemic on dental education

Prevalence of depressive symptoms among dental students is influenced by sex, academic performance, smoking exposure, and sexual orientation: cross-sectional study

Aim: To estimate the prevalence and associated factors of self-reported depressive symptoms in undergraduate and graduate dental students. Methods: The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was applied, and only the depression domain was verified. A structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic, behavioral, and COVID-19 pandemic-related fear variables. Academic performance was assessed based on academic records, ranging from 0 (worst possible grade) to 10 (best possible grade). Respondents included 408 regularly enrolled dental students. Bi- and multivariate analyses were performed using Poisson regression with robust variance to verify the association between at least moderate depressive symptoms and independent variables. Results: The prevalence of at least moderate depression was 40.5% among undergraduate students and 26% among graduate students. The prevalence of fear and anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic was 96.1% among undergraduate students and 93.5% among graduate students. In the final multivariate analysis, being female (prevalence ratio [PR]:2.01; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]:1.36­2.96) was associated with a higher PR for depression. Conversely, no exposure to smoking (PR:0.54; 95%CI:0.36­0.82) and a final academic performance average ≥7.0 (PR:0.56; 95%CI:0.41­0.76) was associated with a lower PR for depression. Finally, among graduate students, a non-heterosexual orientation was associated with a higher PR for depression (PR:6.70; 95%CI:2.21­20.29). Conclusion: Higher rates of depression symptoms were observed in female undergraduates, students with lower academic performance and smoking exposure, and graduate dental students with a non-heterosexual orientation

Brief Motivational Interviewing: Evaluation of a skills-based education program

Purpose: Oral health care providers have been charged with recommending the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for the prevention of HPV oropharyngeal cancers (OPC). The purpose of this study was to determine dental hygiene student competency of the application of brief motivational interviewing (BMI) and the accuracy of HPV vaccine information for the prevention of HPV OPC. Methods: A convenience sample of 59 senior dental hygiene (DH) students from the class of 2020 (n=31) and the class of 2021 (n=28) participated in the HPV OPC curriculum and skills-based BMI training at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. Students completed two audio-recorded patient interactions and one Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Student self-assessment and faculty evaluation scores were determined by a standardized BMI HPV rubric. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: Class of 2021 self-assessment ratings were higher than the class of 2020 in all components of the BMI HPV rubric at all three time points. Faculty evaluation achieved statistically significant improvement for the class of 2021 from patient Interaction 1 (evocation p<0.01;summary p<0.01) to the OSCE (evocation p<0.05;summary p<0.01). Both classes rated themselves as competent (≥70%) for most BMI subcategories. Conclusion: Dental hygiene student competence in demonstrating the components of the Spirit of MI to the accuracy of HPV and HPV vaccine information was achieved through the implementation of the skills-based BMI HPV training. Outcomes of student self-assessment and faculty evaluation highlighted the Kirkpatrick Model as a framework to evaluate BMI skills-based training.

Evaluation of Knowledge Levels of Dentistry Students on the COVID-19 and its Effects on Depression

ABSTRACT Objective To determine the level of knowledge of dentistry students regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and to evaluate whether the risk factors of the outbreak cause depression. Material and Methods This study was conducted with 516 dentistry students (3rd, 4th and 5th grades) who started clinical practice in their education. The first part of the questionnaires applied to the students includes questions about demographic information, while the second part contains questions to determine their knowledge levels on the COVID-19 pandemic and protection against it. In the third section, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to examine depression symptoms. The data were analyzed by frequency analyses and Chi-squared tests via the IBM SPSS 22.0 software. Results Of the 516 students, 150 (29%) participants were in the 3rd, 212 (41%) were in the 4th and 154 (30%) were in the 5th grade. 355 (69%) students stated that their knowledge level about COVID-19 was high. 30.9% were conscious of the importance of using masks. 29.6% were aware of the importance of using gloves, 30.3% of not shaking hands. According to BDI scores, 37.1% of the participants seemed to experience moderate to severe and very severe depression. Conclusion It was observed that the students didn't have a sufficient level of knowledge about the factors affecting the spread of the pandemic. New stress factors such as COVID-19 may increase the incidence of depression.