title: A new oral health elective for medical students at the University of Washington.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral health is an important but inadequately addressed area in medical school curricula. Primary care practitioners are in an ideal position to help prevent oral disease but lack the knowledge to do so.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We developed an oral health elective that targeted 1st- and 2nd-year medical students as part of a previously described oral health initiative and oral health curriculum.
  
  
  METHODS
  To promote interprofessional collaboration, we utilized medical-dental faculty teams for lectures and hands-on peer instruction by dental students for clinical skills.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Evaluations revealed positive shifts in attitudes toward oral health and significant gains in oral health knowledge and self-confidence. Students rated the course highly and advocated for further integration of oral health into required medical curricula.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We describe the elective including curriculum development, course evaluation results, and steps for implementing a successful oral health elective into medical education. We highlight interprofessional collaboration and constituency building among medical and dental faculty and administrators.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Dentistry Dental Public Health Sciences, Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. wendy@mouradian.net
authors.forename: Wendy E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Mouradian
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keerbs
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Slayton
authors.forename: Deepti
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Rama
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oskouian
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schaad
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kalet
authors.forename: Susan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Marshall
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D009909:Oral Health; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012577:Schools, Medical; D014861:Washington