Infant oral health education in U.S. dental school curricula.
OBJECTIVE
This study was performed to determine didactic and clinical curricular content about infant oral health in predoctoral pediatric dentistry programs.


METHODS
54 dental school departments of pediatric dentistry were surveyed about: 1) curricular content devoted to teaching infant oral health (IOH) and age of first dental visit; 2) methods used to teach IOH and hours dedicated to each method; and 3) whether students receive hands-on experiences with infants.


RESULTS
Eighty-six percent of programs teach students to see infants at 12 months of age or younger. Curricular time ranged from 15 minutes to 13 hours (mean = 2 hrs, 20 min, median = 1 hr, 45 min). All programs used lectures; other formats included handouts, demonstration and small group seminar. Fifty percent provide clinical experiences, albeit they are not uniform for all students. One-fourth provides uniform, clinical hands-on experiences with infant oral examinations.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicate varying degrees of acceptance about teaching infant oral health in our dental schools.
McWhorter
A G
AG
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, USA. amcwhorter@tambcd.edu
Seale
N S
NS
King
S A
SA
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003479:Curriculum; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009909:Oral Health; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry / Q000193:education*; D012575:Schools, Dental; D014481:United States