Journal of dental education
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Dental students' attitudes towards access to dental care for the underserved may be impacted by participation in community oral health promotion programs that target individuals in underserved communities. At the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, freshman dental students provide classroom oral health promotion and preventive dental care programs to underserved elementary school children. One hundred forty-four freshman dental students were surveyed three times during their freshman year-before, during, and after participation in these programs. ⋯ Students reported positive attitudes in all categories throughout the study period. The students' attitudes about societal expectations to care for the oral health of the underserved remained stable over the study period, but they became more uncertain of who should be responsible for fulfilling that obligation, who should receive that care, and their capability to provide this care while in dental school. These changes in attitude may reflect the students' greater understanding of the complexity of the determinants of oral health as a consequence of their community education experiences.
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Tenure and promotion are integral parts of the academic environment; however, in this era of growing shortages of faculty, as the baby boomers retire and the majority of dentists choose private practice, recruitment and retention may be affected by the way institutions handle promotion and tenure. A national survey of U. S. dental schools conducted in 2007 assessed the existence of multiple employment tracks for faculty and examined the requirements for promotion and tenure. ⋯ This finding indicates an apparent increase over time in flexibility regarding tracks and tenure. The majority of schools did not report requirements for the number of publications necessary for promotion. Those that did report requirements showed an increase in expected scholarly activity relative to past studies, indicating that it may be more difficult than ever to achieve promotion.
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In this reflection article, Dr. Huw F. Thomas, a U. ⋯ The goal of the ADEA CCI is to provide a forum to build consensus within the dental community for innovative changes in the education of general dentists. As part of the consensus-building process, the ADEA CCI commissioned a series of articles, published in the Journal of Dental Education, to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue about issues and forces shaping the future of dental education and propose strategies to achieve desired enhancements. Collectively, this series of articles is known as the Perspectives and Reflections in Dental Education (PRIDE) series to acknowledge the commitment of the academic dental community to reflect on current practices and future directions and also to represent the pride of dental school faculty members in their educational responsibilities and accomplishments.