Hue dental students' use and perception of an online dental learning platform: A pilot study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Online educational materials are growing in use, and dental students worldwide can benefit from higher quality and more accessible online supplemental resources. This study was created to evaluate the learning resources non-English speaking dental students desire and to pilot My Dental Key (MDK), an English, evidence-based, online dental educational platform. METHODS: Third to sixth year dental students at the Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy were asked to pilot MDK over a 5-week period and were invited to answer three surveys throughout the study. A preliminary survey was given to gauge the participants' (n = 209) preferences regarding the use of English-based dental educational resources. Participants (n = 58) completed a presurvey prior to accessing MDK. After the 5-week period, participants (n = 38) were given a postsurvey to evaluate the platform's effectiveness as a supplemental educational resource. RESULTS: Overall, we found that: (1) students desire credible online supplemental resources in addition to current resources provided by their school, (2) the multimodal content that MDK provides is a strength that bridges language barriers (3) participants perceived that the content on MDK would help them in class and when treating patients. CONCLUSIONS: Improving the quality of online supplemental dental resources will have the capability to progress the current educational landscape, and further resources should be created to best serve the global dental community.

How US dental schools can better prepare their students to perform operative procedures.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to characterize the curricular and supplemental resources used by dental students during their operative dentistry course, survey students' perception of each resource's "helpfulness," and assess students' perceptions of preparedness to perform operative dental procedures in clinical settings. METHODS: American Student Dental Association delegates at all accredited dental education programs in the United States were asked to forward an email to students enrolled at their respective institutions explaining the purpose of the study and asking them to fill out our survey. The response rate was calculated using the targeted enrollment data found in American Dental Education Association Official Guide to Dental Schools. RESULTS: A total of 715 qualified respondents completed our questionnaire for a response rate of 13.5%. 90% of students felt at least "moderately prepared" to perform operative procedures in the clinical environment. The 3 most common curricular resources provided to students were lecture slides (n = 707, 99%), live lectures (n = 664, 93%), and live faculty demonstrations (n = 547, 77%). YouTube was the most common supplemental resource utilized by students (n = 575, 80%). When asked to select which resources were the most helpful for their learning, 49% (270/547) selected live faculty demonstrations, 27% (153/575) selected YouTube videos, and 23% (155/664) selected lectures/lecture slides. CONCLUSION: To best meet the expectations of the current generation of dental students and to prevent early-stage dental learners from being influenced by clinical misinformation online, dental schools should consider adapting and producing more online, video-based learning resources for their curricula.

Silk Biomaterials-Mediated miRNA Functionalized Orthopedic Devices.

Silk-based bioresorbable medical devices, such as screws, plates, and rods, have been under investigation due to their promising properties for orthopedic repairs. Options to functionalize these new devices for enhanced control of bone regeneration would also exploit the compatible processing methods used to generate the devices. MicroRNAs are important regulators of bone maintenance and formation, and miRNA-based therapeutics have the potential to aid bone repair, utilizing a transient therapeutic approach with local bioactivity. We hypothesized that silk-based orthopedic devices could be used for the local delivery of miRNAs, using anti-sense miR-214 (AS-miR-214), to inhibit endogenous expression of osteoinductive antagonist and thereby supporting the upregulation of osteoinductive target molecules activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and Osterix (Osx). AS-miR-214 silk devices, prepared using surface coating, demonstrated continuous release of miRNA inhibitors up to 7 days in vitro. Additionally, human mesenchymal stem cells seeded on AS-miR-214 silk films expressed higher levels of osteogenic genes ATF4, Osx, Runx2, and Osteocalcin. Interestingly, these cells exhibited lower cell viability and DNA content over 21 days. Conversely, the cells demonstrated significantly higher levels of alkaline phosphatase expression and calcium deposition compared with cells seeded on silk films with nontargeting miRNA controls. The study demonstrated that the silk-based orthopedic devices, in conjunction with bioactive miRNA-based therapeutics, may serve as a novel system for localized bone tissue engineering, enhancing osteogenesis at the implant interface while avoiding detrimental systematic side effects.