Effect of a One-Time Communication Training Session on Dental Students' Self-Efficacy Expectancy.

An implementation of training units that provide evidence for improving students' communication skills in the dental curriculum is now more than ever of utmost importance. This study aimed to investigate how students assess their skills after communication training and whether this training also increased students' self-efficacy expectancy. A total of 32 male and 71 female students with a mean age of 25.6 ± 3.9 years participated in the study. Self-assessment of communication skills and self-efficacy expectancies were collected at two time points using Likert scales. Our study shows that the communication training, consisting of a practical exercise with actors and an online theory module, significantly improved the students' self-assessment of their communication skills and also improved some aspects of self-efficacy expectancy. These results indicate that, in addition to the practical and technical-theoretical training of students, communication training is essential in the dental curriculum. In summary, this study showed that a one-time practical exercise with actors together with an online theory module could improve both the self-assessment of communication competence and some aspects of self-efficacy expectancy, which demonstrates the importance of training communication skills alongside practical and technical-theoretical training.

Short- and long-term changes of the pharyngeal airway after surgical mandibular advancement in Class II patients-a three-dimensional retrospective study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the short- and long-term impact of mandibular-only advancement on pharyngeal airway space (PAS) changes by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and a new segmentation software. Furthermore, to determine whether a correlation exists between forward movement and PAS gain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of a homogeneous cohort of Class II patients who had undergone mandibular-only advancement was performed. Pre- (T0), post- (T1), and 1-year post-operative (T2) CBCT scans were obtained in each case, and the changes in PAS parameters (volume and smallest cross-sectional area) were compared with new segmentation software. Mandibular advancement was measured and correlated with PAS parameters. RESULTS: A significant postoperative gain in all airway parameters compared with baseline was shown for T1 (p = 0.02), with an additional increase for T2 (p < 0.001). No significant linear association between the movement of the measurement points and any other PAS parameters could be discerned (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that bilateral mandibular-only advancement surgery results in a significant widening of the PAS in Class II patients. Long-term adaption of the PAS also occurs after surgery implying an additional gain of PAS over time. Sicat Air® software seems to be a sufficient and promising tool for PAS evaluation.