Bringing structural competency to the forefront of dental education.

Cultural competency as introduced to the healthcare industry had the intention to alleviate and familiarize all healthcare providers with individuals of other cultures and backgrounds than "self". It attempted to fill in the gaps and prepare providers to relate better with their patients and provide cross-cultural care. Although it gave the impression of helping to decrease biases and stigma, it resulted in stronger biases, stereotypes of different ethnic groups, and racial profiling. It never acknowledged the systemic barriers that are so ingrained in our society that determine who gets access to care, and who gets the best outcomes in our healthcare system. Starting with the premise of our Surgeon General Reports, we reviewed the Social Determinants of Health and the relationship to structural barriers. This manuscript describes the numerous barriers that affect the access to care, and outcomes of the most marginalized population in the US. Numerous of which are so prevalent amongst all of us that they "feel normal" that there is a degree of structural blindness. We share the experience and frameworks to assess the structural vulnerability of our patients and introduce the different aspects of the curriculum and research that are currently in place to address and bring structural competency to the forefront of dental education at WesternU College of Dental Medicine in Pomona CA.

YouTube use among dental students for learning clinical procedures: A multi-institutional study.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of YouTube as a learning tool for clinical procedures among third- and fourth-year dental students. METHODS: A multiple choice survey was distributed through Qualtrics to third- and fourth-year dental students at 5 United States dental schools. Questions pertaining to YouTube use were asked related to the following categories: demographic information, general YouTube use, YouTube use as a tool to learn clinical procedures, YouTube video sharing, and validity. Descriptive and quantitative analyses were performed. RESULTS: Data were collected in 2019 and 2020 from 479 third- and fourth-year dental students (overall response rate 28.3%). Respondents ranged in age from under 23 to over age 50. Ninety-five percent of respondents considered YouTube videos on clinical procedures to be a helpful learning tool, and 89% would like for their dental school to post tutorials to YouTube/social media. No statistically significant differences were found between dental institutions; however, a statistically significant difference between third- and fourth-year students did exist regarding the frequency of YouTube use. While the use of YouTube as a learning tool for clinical procedures is high, 36% of students are uncertain about the evidence-base of the videos. CONCLUSIONS: As dental students use publicly available resources as adjuncts to the dental curriculum, it is important to analyze the quality of the material accessed. These findings may suggest a need for dental institutions to increase the development of evidence-based instructional videos as a part of their clinical educational curriculums.