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Volume3 Issue5
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The following is based on a research article originally published
in the “AppliedResearch” section of
JCDA.ca
—CDA’s online,
open access scholarly publication that features articles indexed in
Medline, Journal CitationReports and ScienceCitation Index.
ResearchSummary
Full articleand
references at
MoreOnline
What areCanadianDental Professional
Students Taught
about Infant, Toddler and
PrenatalOralHealth?
Despite the fact thatmanyprofessional organizations, includingCDA, recommendafirst visit
coincidingwith theeruptionof thefirst toothorno later than12monthsof age,
2-4
onlya limited
number of dentistsarewilling to see infantsand toddlers.
6,11
A recent survey revealed that some
general dentistsarewilling to see low-risk infantsand toddlers, butnot thosewithobvious
dental disease.
12
Parentswhoattempt toobtainanearlyconsultation for their childmaybecome
discouraged, as somepractitioners refuse to seeanychildrenunder 3yearsof age.
13
Thepurpose
of this studywas todeterminehowaccrediteddental anddental hygieneprograms inCanada
prepare students in theareasof infant, toddler andprenatal oral health.
Anelectronicquestionnairewas sent toassociatedeans (academic), programdirectorsor
curriculumdirectorsof accrediteddentistryanddental hygieneprograms in thecountry.
Respondents included representativesof the10accrediteddentistry (100%) and25dental
hygieneprograms (64.1%) inCanada. Thequestionnairewasdeveloped tocollect informa-
tiononwhether, and towhat extent, programswereeducating students in infant, toddler
andprenatal oral health. Specifics exploredmethodsused, hoursdedicated toeachmethod
andmaterialsused toeducate students.
Results
Infant andToddlerOralHealthCurriculum
Whileall dentistryprograms recommend that achild’s first dental visit takeplaceby12
monthsof age, only56%of dental hygieneprograms recommend it.Most respondents
indicated that infant and toddler oral health is anexplicit component of their curriculum, and
all indicated that time isdesignated in their curriculum for this topic. Only1dental hygiene
and4dentistry schools reportedofferingadditional elective trainingon the topic,which
most commonly takeplace incommunityprograms, publichealthclinics andpediatric
dentistryclinics,withconsiderablevariation inhoursof exposure.
In termsof the timedevoted tovarious teachingmethods, lectures and seminarswere
themost commondidacticapproaches followedbyclinical careandclinical observation
only. Less thana thirdof programs reported that all students receivehands-onexperience
inperforming infant and toddler examinations.Most respondingprograms relyon their
institution’s clinic toprovide theseopportunities,whileothers send students toprimarycare
clinics, daycares andpublichealth settings. Of thosewhoprovidehands-onexperiences to
someor all of their students,most dentistryprograms reported that fewer than50%of their
students receivehands-onexperiences,whilemost dental hygieneprograms reported that
≥75%of their studentshave suchopportunities.
RobertJ.Schroth
DMD,MSc,PhD
RocioB.Quiñonez
DMD,MS,MPH
AaronB.Yaffe
BSc,BN
MaryF.Bertone
DipDH,BScDH,MPH
FelicityK.Hardwick
BDS,MS,FRCD(C)
RosamundL.Harrison
DMD,MSc,MRCD(C)
