What is important to medical students' online learning of dental trauma in medical education.

Traumatic dental injury (TDI), a topic not normally offered in the medical curriculum is made available through the medical school as an online learning course. Online learning provides an educational pathway for cross-disciplinary learning without any change to the existing curriculum. This research identified important key features that should be included in the design of an online course to provide a positive online learning experience for medical students. Ten important features were identified for medical educators to consider when they develop an online course to introduce dental trauma. These features are (1) prioritising information to TDI, (2) providing specific facts and information to TDI, (3) information must be easily retrieved, (4) providing career-related information, (5) promoting self-confidence, (6) promoting learning of new knowledge, (7) easy-to-understand content materials, (8) establishing a logical sequence of learning, (9) visual illustrations to complement written text and (10) promoting self-directed learning.

Introducing dental trauma (a non-curricular topic) into medical education: A viewpoint.

The aim of this paper is focused on expanding medical students' knowledge and understanding of a non-core curricular subject not normally offered in the medical curriculum. The critical juncture explored how to introduce a health-related subject into medical education that complements without competing for space/time in medical students' core studies. Using dental trauma as an example, this paper supports the opportunity for medical students to learn online about managing dental injuries and to raise their awareness of the need for accurate diagnosis and treatment of traumatic dental injuries before they graduate as medical doctors.

Developing a prototype dental trauma e-learning course for medical education.

This article aims to demonstrate how an expert feedback process was used to identify emerging issues within a prototype extracurricular course on dental trauma and show how the feedback was addressed prior to piloting the course more widely. Dowse's Design Research Model was adapted for the design and development of a prototype dental trauma e-learning course. This paper will focus on step five, gathering expert feedback and the evaluation process. Four critical features emerged from the feedback that ought to be incorporated into the e-learning course design, namely, 1) keep resources clinically relevant; 2) keep resources simple to learn; 3) make resources easy to understand; and 4) support self-learning. The results demonstrate the value of an expert feedback process for improving a prototype designed to address a major gap in knowledge among medical doctors identified in the literature.

Medical students' perception of an online dental trauma course in medical education.

BACKGROUND: With dental trauma education not commonly offered in medicine programmes, offering an online learning course may fill the knowledge deficiency for medical students. The aim of this study is to evaluate medical students' perceptions of an online dental trauma course. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire study conducted among medical students at an Australian University. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the underlying factor structure within the items. Cronbach's alpha was employed to estimate the factors' reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess construct validity; SPSS v22 and AMOIS v22 were used for data analyses. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis identified two distinct factors: 'visual' and 'content', with excellent reliability for visual (Cronbach's alpha = 0.911) and good reliability for content (Cronbach's alpha = 0.755). CONCLUSIONS: This research supports the findings that medical students perceived the online dental trauma course to be easily understood for self-learning this topic.

Online dental trauma course for medical education.

A literature review identified a knowledge deficit among medical doctors about dental trauma management. To overcome this knowledge gap, a proposal to integrate dental traumatology teaching into the medical curriculum was made to raise medical students' awareness of, and familiarity with managing dental injuries. Despite the challenges of teaching dental trauma, online courses are viewed as a practical learning approach for students to access course material during their busy university schedules. In focusing on the constructivist model, this article details the design and development of the online dental trauma course. It is an example of a learner-led, fully online course. The six steps involved in the course development were as follows: (1) structured order from preclinical to clinical topics; (2) content covering all essential information on TDI diagnosis and management; (3) illustrative materials to support engagement and motivation to complete the course; (4) feedback processes to evaluate the learning process; (5) interactions between peers, educators, and learning materials to help facilitate learning; and (6) content that encompasses mainly visual learning styles. The online dental trauma course has the potential to make important contributions to medical education.

Proposing the inclusion of dental anatomy and trauma in the general medical curriculum.

Many medical doctors are not confident in managing traumatic dental injuries (TDI). This is probably due to a lack of education and training in dental trauma. The existence of inadequate TDI knowledge by doctors should provide the catalyst to establish a dental anatomy and trauma course within the medical curriculum.

A proposal to introduce dental trauma into medical education: An insight.

THE PROBLEM: This proposal aims to tackle the common poor management of traumatic dental injury (TDI) by medical doctors and subsequent poor healthcare outcomes for patients. The literature reports that most medical doctors, in either private practice or hospital emergency departments, lack the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to adequately assess and manage victims of TDI. This is due to little or no clinical dentistry and dental trauma education being included in their medical studies. THE GAP IN THE LITERATURE: From a review of the literature, there is a clear lack of learning provision for medical students on the topic of dental anatomy and trauma. In addition, there appears to be no formal university theoretical and clinical training during medical school. THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The introduction of dental trauma into the medical curriculum will provide students with a better understanding of the importance of early management for better patient outcomes. Medical doctors competent in managing emergency dental trauma procedures will be able to provide a higher standard of care that could prevent potentially lifelong negative repercussions for the patient.

Dental trauma learning facilitators for medical doctors: A viewpoint.

It is important for medical doctors to be equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills to manage dental trauma cases when patients present to them in an emergency. The aim of this paper is to identify facilitators (factors that enhance learning) that may impact on the ability and competency of medical doctors, who are expected to treat traumatic dental injuries (TDI), to appropriately treat and manage such cases. A change in medical curricula that is more inclusive of dental education and TDI management is imperative to promote effective teaching and learning of the treatment and management of dental trauma cases.

Medical doctors' knowledge of dental trauma management: A review.

Education in dental trauma is extremely important to promote knowledge on the assessment and management of a traumatized tooth. Medical doctors are normally only required to manage the emergency phase of traumatic dental injury (TDI) treatment before referring to a dentist, endodontist or oral and maxillofacial surgeon for continuing care. Medical doctors who possess sufficient theoretical knowledge and are competent enough clinically to handle TDI can provide a higher standard of treatment care and ultimately achieve a better patient outcome. The aim of this literature review was to assess the extent of medical doctors' knowledge of dental trauma management for injuries in the following four areas: (a) tooth structure; (b) to the supporting bone; (c) to the periodontal tissues; and (d) to the soft tissues. Based on the findings from this literature review, an overall deficiency in knowledge and confidence in managing dental trauma has been identified. Knowledge and understanding to categorize TDI using the same classification of dental injuries commonly used amongst dentists would allow medical doctors to better manage and communicate with dental colleagues concerning referral for further care. If the medical education curriculum provided medical doctors with more information and skills for the management of dental trauma and an understanding of the importance of early management, then more favourable outcomes may prevail for dental trauma patients.

Learning about dental trauma for medical students.

The literature identifies that medical students receive little or no formal dental trauma assessment and management teaching during medical school. The result of this is that many medical doctors are unaware of the urgency of emergency dental trauma care for patients. To bridge this important gap in medical education, medical educators should look to introduce basic dental trauma teaching into undergraduates' final year of medical school. This initiative would benefit medical doctors in either general medical practice or specialties that assess and manage trauma. This opinion article aims to present the authors' reasons for strongly supporting dental trauma teaching being included and suggests an e-learning approach for its integration into the medical education curriculum.

Root canal medicaments.

The ultimate goals of endodontic treatment are complete removal of bacteria, their byproducts and pulpal remnants from infected root canals and the complete seal of disinfected root canals. Intracanal medicaments have been thought an essential step in killing the bacteria in root canals; however, in modern endodontics, shaping and cleaning may be assuming greater importance than intracanal medicaments as a means of disinfecting root canals. Until recently, formocresol and its relatives were frequently used as intracanal medicaments, but it was pointed out that such bactericidal chemicals dressed in the canal distributed to the whole body from the root apex and so might induce various harmful effects including allergies. Furthermore, as these medicaments are potent carcinogenic agents, there is no indication for these chemicals in modern endodontic treatment. Today, biocompatibility and stability are essential properties for intracanal medicaments. The more modern meaning of intracanal dressing is for a blockade against coronal leakage from the gap between filling materials and cavity wall. Calcium hydroxide has been determined as suitable for use as an intracanal medicament as it is stable for long periods, harmless to the body, and bactericidal in a limited area. It also induces hard tissue formation and is effective for stopping inflammatory exudates. Single-visit endodontics, where intracanal medicaments are not used, is generally not now contraindicated and various reports have shown that the clinical outcomes between single- and multiple- visit endodontics are similar. There is no reason to counsel against single-visit endodontics: however, if multiple-visit endodontics is chosen, calcium hydroxide is recommended to be used as an intracanal medicament.

An investigation into dentists' management methods of dental trauma to maxillary permanent incisors in Victoria, Australia.

Trauma to anterior teeth in children could become a long-term problem to dental health. To a large extent, the management actions of the dentists involved will determine the clinical outcome and, in turn, these actions will be related to their levels of knowledge. The aim of this study was to investigate dentists' knowledge of managing traumatic injuries to maxillary permanent incisors in children. A self-completion questionnaire containing 19 questions on management methods of treating dental trauma was mailed to 693 dentists in Victoria, Australia. The response rate achieved was 61%. This survey found that some of the respondents had adequate management knowledge for the different types of traumatic injuries, while others did not have the correct information. Approximately half the dentists considered milk as the preferred extraoral storage medium of choice for avulsed teeth and a period of 7-10 days splinting after replantation. A large proportion of dentists showed inadequate knowledge with regard to understanding the biological mechanisms causing replacement root resorption (61%) and external inflammatory root resorption (74%). Overall, the respondents to this survey demonstrated only a moderate level of knowledge in management of traumatic injuries to maxillary permanent incisors in children. Continuing professional development programmes may be a means of improving this deficient knowledge base.

Dentists' management of dental injuries and dental trauma in Australia: a review.

This article reviews the available literature on the investigation of dentists' management of dental trauma injuries and their perceptions of barriers to providing care. The levels of knowledge demonstrated by surveys of dentists were not high and dentists perceive inadequate financial remuneration as the main barrier to trauma management. With only a limited number of new dental traumatic injuries occurring annually, dentists may not be competent in providing appropriate care. The management of dental trauma and any hesitations that dentists might have in terms of knowledge and skills are important to investigate to formulate an approach to overcome their reluctance. There is a deficiency of literature on this subject.