Dental undergraduate students' perceptions about placements in primary dental care during the undergraduate dental curriculum: a qualitative evidence synthesis.

Introduction The General Dental Council has advised that undergraduate dental students spend time in primary care, with their experiences evaluated. A systematic review of medical students' primary care placements has been performed but no similar review of dental students is present. This review aimed to synthesise reported opinions of UK dental students on their placements in primary care.Methods Medline, Embase, Education Resources Information Center and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature were searched for qualitative data studies involving UK dental students who had been on placement during training. The qualitative Critical Appraisal Skills Programme guidance was used to appraise studies and a best fit framework synthesis employed.Results Students generally portrayed positive accounts of placements. Themes relating to learning environment, support for learning, real world dentistry, preparation for practice life and competing cultures were developed.Discussion Students thrived when hierarchy between themselves and their supervisors was flattened but the competing cultures of the dental hospital and placements appear to be an area that needs addressing. There are vast differences in the placements being offered.Conclusions Undergraduates mostly enjoy and value their time on placement; however, further research in the area is needed to explore the different kinds of placements available and to inform policy on providing effective training.

Oral health status of athletes with an intellectual disability competing in the Special Olympics GB National Games 2017.

Background The aim of this paper is to describe the oral health status of athletes with intellectual disabilities competing in the Special Olympics, GB National Games, held in Sheffield in August 2017.Methods and materials A convenience sample of athletes who participated in the Special Olympics Special Smiles screening programme was used. All data was recorded on validated Healthy Athletes screening forms.Results Of the 692 athletes that participated, 14% had untreated decay, 51.9% had at least one filling and 28.6% had signs of gingivitis. Furthermore, 6.2% reported pain from their mouth and 2.7% were found to require urgent treatment. Overall, 90.3% reported to clean their mouths at least once per day and 0.7% were found to be edentulous.Discussion The findings from this screening highlighted lower rates of decay, pain and urgent treatment need in comparison to Special Olympic screenings worldwide.Conclusion The oral health of athletes competing in the GB National Games 2017 was better than noted at most Special Olympic events throughout the world. There is little data published on the oral health of individuals with learning disabilities in the UK. These results provide valuable baseline data to monitor and review the oral health of Special Olympic athletes within Great Britain.