Journal of dental education
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The 1995 Institute of Medicine study of the future of dental education, Dental Education at the Crossroads: Challenges and Change, recommended that dental schools increase the use of nontenure-track positions in their employment of faculty. As part of a larger investigation of faculty appointment processes in U. S. dental schools, dental deans were queried about institutional policies governing faculty appointments and the use of tenure and nontenure faculty tracks. ⋯ Compared to faculty appointment data reported in 1990, there were more nontenure-track faculty in 81 percent of research-oriented schools and 55 percent of clinical-oriented schools. The most frequently cited reasons for more nontenure faculty in these thirty-three schools were greater administrative flexibility, better fulfillment of mission, and increased difficulty achieving tenure. This study showed the number of faculty holding nontenure-track appointments had increased since 1990, especially among research-emphasis dental schools.
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Review Comparative Study
Longitudinal analysis of student performance in a dental hygiene distance education program.
The purpose of the study was to determine if learners who receive face-to-face instruction in an educational program performed statistically better on established benchmark assessments (GPA, course averages, and NBDHE) than learners at a distance from the didactic course instructor. A comparative, quasi-experimental, ex-post facto study was conducted. The treatment variable was program type: face-to-face vs. distance. ⋯ The use of interactive television (ITV) for delivery of an educational program using distance education technology provided acceptable results in learner didactic performance. Learners at both the host and cooperating college (distance) sites performed equally well. The results were used to document program outcomes.
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Tobacco use is the chief avoidable cause of morbidity and mortality in North America and is associated with increased risk for oral cancer and increased prevalence and severity of periodontitis and other oral conditions. By delivering two- to three-minute tobacco-use cessation counseling (TUCC), oral health professionals can achieve quit rates substantially higher than the spontaneous quit rate. However, many clinicians report lack of training and knowledge in TUCC as barriers to providing cessation counseling. ⋯ A pre- and post-program telephone interview of tobacco-using patients assessed TUCC intervention by students. A significantly greater proportion of patients received TUCC post-program compared to pre-program in terms of consequences associated with tobacco use as well as advice to quit. A comprehensive TUCC program resulted in an improvement of 11.7 percent for consequences and 23 percent for advice to quit.
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This report presents data from ADEA's 2001-02 survey of vacant budgeted faculty positions and examines challenges likely to exacerbate faculty shortages in the immediate future. The fifty-four dental schools responding to the survey reported 344 vacant budgeted positions, a decrease of 4 percent from 2000 to 2001. Seventy-nine percent of these vacancies are for full-time positions. ⋯ Of just over 1,000 faculty separations during 2001-02, 53 percent were reported to be individuals leaving to enter private practice. There is no indication of a near-term reversal of the decade-long trend toward increasing budgeted vacancies, and the current economic environment along with other factors delineated in this report makes the challenge to recruit and retain dental faculty more difficult. ADEA and other stakeholders are currently pursuing a number of strategies to meet the demand for future dental school faculty.
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Dental personnel are in an excellent position to recognize suspected abuse of dental patients because 65-75 percent of abuse occurs in the head and neck area. While most dental and dental hygiene curricula include the topic of child abuse, it has previously been unknown if other types of abuse, such as intimate partner abuse, elder abuse, and abuse of disabled persons, are addressed. This study was conducted to determine the extent to which dental hygiene programs have incorporated these family violence topics into the curriculum. ⋯ The need is critical for increased curriculum attention in U. S. dental hygiene programs to help stem the epidemic of family violence. Raising dental hygienists' awareness of the problem and potentially increasing the number of reports of and referrals for suspected violence may help more victims.