Training in radiographic caries detection and staging using an interactive tool.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of the study was to compare a dental student's practical ability to detect and stage radiographic caries per International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS), following a traditional lecture and a lecture containing an interactive session using an audience response system (ARS). Associations between the order of instructions and student performance were also evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-three dental students were randomly assigned to groups A and B. On the first day, group A received a traditional lecture and group B received content using the ARS. All students then took an electronic quiz (T1) identifying and staging caries on radiographs per ICDAS. For the second day, group A received the content using the ARS system and group B received a traditional lecture. All students subsequently took a second electronic quiz (T2). Two survey questions about the learning experience were also included. RESULTS: Wilcoxon rank-sum analysis of scores from consenting students (81) showed no difference between the quiz 1 scores of two groups (p=.61). Whilst not statistically significant (p = .07), the group that had the ARS initially scored marginally higher on quiz 2. Survey results showed that most participants preferred either the ARS alone (49.38%) or a combination of the ARS and a traditional lecture (40.74%). A majority of them (80%) found the ARS helpful. CONCLUSION: When training students in practical skills of detection and staging radiographic presence of dental caries per ICDAS, hands-on learning tools, such as an ARS, complement traditional lectures.

Factors attracting Pediatric Dentists to Associateship Agreements.

Purpose: To evaluate the satisfaction of pediatric dentists in associateship agreements. Associateship agreements were deemed satisfactory if a dentist would recommend the employment experience to a colleague.
Methods: A web-based survey was administered to 6,587 pediatric dentists and pediatric dental residents in the United States in 2018. Attributes of associateships that affected dentists' decisions to join or leave a practice were examined with descriptive statistics. Logistic regression was used to identify significant associations between demographic characteristics and satisfaction with previous associateship agreements.
Results: The survey had an adjusted response rate of 13.2 percent. A total of 405 respondents reported previous experience as an associate in a pediatric dental practice; 62.0 percent of these individuals recommended their previous associateship to a colleague. Males were significantly more likely to recommend their previous associateship than females (odds ratio=1.85, 95 percent confidence interval=1.16 to 2.95). Income was the most frequently selected attribute that attracted dentists to an associateship (51.1 percent); 34.6 percent identified practice treatment philosophy as a primary reason for leaving an associateship agreement.
Conclusion: Nearly two-thirds of pediatric dentists who worked as an associate would recommend the experience to a colleague. Many dentists viewed these as positive career opportunities, even if the associateship did not culminate in buy-in or buy-out.