The undergraduate dental degree in Malaysia is regulated by the Malaysian Dental Council (MDC) (Standard of Undergraduate Competencies), Code of Professional Conduct of the Malaysian Dental Council, the Malaysian Qualification Framework 2.0 and the Malaysian Quality Agency (MQA) quality assurance documents. These primary documents emphasize the importance of professional ethics and law in dentistry as will be further detailed and discussed later. This study reflects on the need to integrate ethics, professionalism and law with sufficient coverage in terms of content and emphasis in the dental undergraduate curriculum. Literature and benchmarking practices are reviewed for a deeper reflection of the current needs in a professional dental ethics and law education course. The present study is primarily focused on regulatory requirements, legal cases and comparative literature to serve as a reference on how professional ethics and law courses may be conducted. As an incidental measure, a reflection as to how the course of study of professional ethics is delivered in a local university is considered in a selected local university’s undergraduate dental curriculum. The findings indicate that ethics professionalism and dental law is not given sufficient emphasis as it is included as one of the minor components within another overcrowded subject and the coverage of what is taught is limited in context. This paper is an invitation to all dental schools to review and reflect whether, given the emphasis on professional ethics, legal and regulatory compliance in the regulatory documents, it is adequately reflected in their dental curriculum. In this regard, some benchmarking references are done to suggest what such a course should cover, for consideration of the dental schools.
Ethics, Dental

One of the fastest growing segments of implant dentistry is the utilization of computed tomography (CT) scan data and treatment planning software in conjunction with guided surgery for implant reconstruction cases. Computer assisted planning systems and associated surgical templates have established a predictable, esthetic, functional technique for placing and restoring implants. Especially, a philosophy of restoratively driven implant placement has been generally adopted. Recently, a variety of commercial dental fields have released their scanning and fabricating protocols and methods for restorations. This process is still being investigated and developed for the most precise and predictable outcome. This case report describes a female patient who wanted dental implants in fully edentulous areas. Restoratively driven implant placements were performed with surgical guide and the patient was fully satisfied with the clinical results, and at 5-year post restorative follow-up assessment, both implant and prosthesis were proved clinical success.
Dental Implants ; Dentistry ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Philosophy ; Prostheses and Implants

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to provide basic data to establish a foundation for efficient operation of the organization by assessing the effects of self-efficacy and job stress (measured by self-efficacy, job demand, and job autonomy) on organizational commitment among clinical dental hygienists. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey study that used a self-administered questionnaire to collect data. After institutional review board approval, a survey was conducted from January to May 2017, targeting dental hygienists working in dental clinics and hospitals. The final 199 questionnaires were analyzed with PASW 18.0 for Windows (IBM Corp.). The data were analyzed using mean and/or standard deviation t-test, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The means for self-efficacy, job demand, job autonomy, and organizational commitment were 55.94±9.65, 26.55±2.29, 20.24±3.88, and 49.49±8.39, respectively. Along with self-efficacy, the other factors of organizational commitment among dental hygienists that were statistically significant included job autonomy, mean salary (2,500~2,990 thousand Korean won [KRW] and ≥3,000 thousand KRW), and employee welfare (good), which are sub-areas of the surface acting. In other words, it was found that the higher the mean salary, the better the employee welfare, the higher self-efficacy, and the higher the organizational commitment, and the explanatory power of the model was approximately 42.1%. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the higher the self-efficacy, job autonomy, mean salary, and employee welfare, the higher the organizational commitment. In order to improve job demand among dental hygienists, it is necessary to establish an effective plan to improve job welfare, self-efficacy, and job autonomy.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dental Clinics ; Dental Hygienists ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Humans ; Salaries and Fringe Benefits

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to measure the efficacy of different tooth-brushing methods for removing plaque in Korea. METHODS: This study was conducted with the approval of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Seoul National University School of Dentistry (S-D20180021). Thirty participants aged between 19 and 30 years, who did not have periodontal disease, were enrolled in this observational study. Participants were given the same type of toothbrush and toothpaste and asked to brush their teeth as they usually would. During brushing, participants were recorded with a camcorder that was attached to a mirror. Participants were aware they were being recorded. After they had finished brushing their teeth, a dental plaque staining and oral plaque index (PI) examination was performed. The PI score was measured using the Turesky modified Quigley Hein Index. Brushing methods were classified as rolling, horizontal, vertical, circling, and oblique. Skipped surfaces were recorded separately. Following this, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. RESULTS: Most surfaces of the mouth were skipped. The most commonly used brushing method was the circling method, followed by the vertical, horizontal, rolling, and oblique methods. The most frequently used method on the vestibular surface was circling, with 52.92% of the oral surface skipped. The oblique brushing method had the lowest mean PI score with a mean±SD of 1.73±0.82. The mean PI score of the skipped surfaces was the highest with a mean±SD of 2.52±0.81. We also analyzed the linear mixed model considering the different lengths of time spent brushing. Both the brushing method used and the time spent brushing had a significant effect on the PI score, but no interactions between these were observed. In areas where a horizontal brushing method had been used, the PI score was significantly decreased. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the horizontal brushing method is an efficient tooth-brushing method compared to the other methods. Additionally, tooth-brushing for more than 10 seconds on 3 to 4 teeth area was effective in removing dental biofilm.
Biofilms ; Dental Plaque Index ; Dental Plaque ; Dentistry ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Mouth ; Observational Study ; Oral Hygiene ; Periodontal Diseases ; Seoul ; Tooth ; Toothpastes ; Video Recording

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate students’ cheating behaviors, perceptions, and risk factors for cheating. METHODS: The author conducted a questionnaire survey of 375 undergraduate students at the Dankook University College of Dentistry in 2017. The questionnaires consisted of three parts: individual information, a moral sensitivity test, and cheating behaviors. Students rated whether they were involved in 28 cheating behaviors and their intolerant attitude for each behavior. Each student received a cheating grade of severity and diversity from 0 to 4 according to the degree of commitment in cheating behaviors. Chi-square and correlation tests were performed among cheating grades, individual factors, and moral sensitivity. RESULTS: Most students admitted having engaged in at least one cheating behavior (92.2%). School years, intolerant attitudes towards cheating, perceived prevalence, study time, and academic performance showed significant correlations with students’ cheating grades. CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that cheating behaviors were a very serious and prevalent problem at this dental college in South Korea. This is a critical issue that must be addressed. Dental school faculty members need to work together to develop policies, ethics curriculum and to improve students’ attitudes. It is also important to encourage students to learn and devote their time to study to reduce cheating behaviors.
Curriculum ; Dentistry ; Education, Dental ; Ethics ; Humans ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Schools, Dental

The future of evidence-based dentistry in developing Africa heavily depends on a sustainable establishment of a vibrant dentist-scientist workforce. A dentist scientist is saddled with the responsibility of carrying out robust cutting edge research projects that are inspired by clinical experience. Currently, there are no pipelines in place to systematically train such dentists, neither are there programs in place to allow trained African dentists choose such a career pathway. A dentist-scientist is a person who studied oral, dental, maxillofacial (or craniofacial) diseases, prevention, and population sciences (obtaining a medical degrees such as bachelor of dental surgery [BDS] or BChD) alone; or in combination with other advanced degrees such as doctor of dental surgery (DDS)/doctor of philosophy (PhD) or BDS/PhD. This situation has resulted in overdependence of African clinical practice on research findings from technologically advanced Western countries and a decline in clinical research capacity building. The career path of a dentist-scientist should involve research along the spectrum of basic biomedical sciences, translational, clinical and public health sciences. There are several factors responsible for the ultra-low count of dentist-scientist in the heterogeneous African communities such as: poor biomedical research infrastructure; lack of funding; absence of structured dentist scientist career pathways; lack of personnel, inter alia. Hence, this review hopes to discuss the opportunities of setting up a dentist-scientist training pathway in Africa (as obtains in most developed world settings), identify opportunities and prospects of developing an African dentist-scientist workforce, and finally discuss the challenges involved.
Africa* ; Capacity Building ; Career Choice ; Dental Research ; Dentistry ; Dentists ; Education, Dental ; Evidence-Based Dentistry ; Financial Management ; Hope ; Humans ; Philosophy ; Public Health

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 2.9% hydrogen peroxide (HP) whitening strip with a desensitizing agent as a primer. METHODS: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Kyungpook National University Hospital. A total of 144 subjects (mean age: 21.7 years) were recruited after they provided informed consent for participation in the study. All participants used the whitening strip and primer for 1.5 h a day for 14 days. ShadeEye-NCC and Vita classical shade guide were used to determine the color changes, with respect to baseline, after 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14 days. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on satisfaction after bleaching and irritating symptoms during the 14 days. All collected data were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA and one-way ANOVA using SPSS 20.0 for windows. RESULTS: Brightness (ΔL*) was significantly higher in groups 2 and 3 than in the control group after 3 days of the experiment. Chroma (Δb*) started to decrease in groups 2 and 3, compared to control, after 1 day. Perceived symptoms of irritation were significantly lower in groups using the strip combined with the desensitizing primer than in the control group. Satisfaction after bleaching was higher in the experimental groups than in control. CONCLUSIONS: The HP whitening strip with a desensitizing agent as a primer is clinically effective in bleaching human enamel after 3 days of use. It also reduces the prevalence of gingival irritation.
Dental Enamel ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Informed Consent ; Prevalence ; Tooth*

OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed at seeking an effective method of improving job satisfaction and practice performance of clinical dental hygienists by analyzing their job satisfaction factors. METHODS: Questionnaires were distributed to 210 clinical dental hygienists working at dental institutions in Busan, Gyeongnam, and Gyeongbuk, from the 25th of July through to the 30th of August, 2015, after receiving approval of the Institutional Review Board. The following conclusions were derived as a result of analyzing a total of 198 of the 210 questionnaires, 12 of which were excluded due to non-response or suspicious authenticity. RESULTS: Analysis of the job satisfaction according to the participants' general characteristics revealed significant differences in terms of marital status (P<0.001), age (P<0.001), education (P=0.002), income (P<0.001), and total work experience (P<0.001). Further, groups showing high scores on the internal marketing system, structural factors, communication system factors, and compensation factors had higher job satisfaction (P<0.01). Analysis of oral health education, a factor in the job satisfaction related to practice performance, was carried out by the high group. This led to high satisfaction with professional pride (P<0.01) and patient relationships (P<0.01). Preventive treatment, another factor in job satisfaction related to practice performance, led to high satisfaction with colleague relationships (P<0.05). The job satisfaction for medical cure cooperation tasks showed no significant differences. Administration and management tasks for high groups led to higher satisfaction with professional pride, ability to work, work environment, compensation, and patient relationships (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These results show the need for an expansion in oral health education and preventive treatment tasks in order to ensure greater job satisfaction in dental hygienists. Additionally, the development of internal marketing systems within dental care institutions is necessary to further enhance and promote a sense of accomplishment at work.
Busan* ; Compensation and Redress ; Dental Care ; Dental Clinics* ; Dental Hygienists* ; Education ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Gyeongsangbuk-do* ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction* ; Marital Status ; Marketing ; Methods ; Oral Health

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at assessing the quality of dental services, as perceived by the disabled, and analyzing the factors identified to be of both high importance and low performance, as identified by IPA. METHODS: The data were collected from June 8 to November 2, 2016, after approval by the institutional review board. Questionnaires were distributed to 1466 disabled dental service consumers, of which 349 cases were included. The data were analyzed by frequency analysis, multi-regression analysis for implicit importance, and IPA matrix for marketing strategy. RESULTS: The performance results revealed that cost level, reduction of the fee, and waiting time for treatments were the sources of greatest dissatisfaction. The IPA matrix results categorized the next appointment, explanation of the fee, waiting time for treatment, professionalism of the staff, and convenient facilities as high-importance, low-performance factors. Meanwhile, the results of the IPA matrix for consumer segmentation, according to recently used dental institutions were different. The dental clinic users evaluated professionalism of the staff, convenience of the facility, explanation of the fee, and cost level as high-importance, low-performance attributes. The dental hospital users indicated that waiting time for treatment and next appointment were high-importance, low-performance attributes. Finally, the public health center users indicated that convenience of booking, waiting time for treatment, convenience of facilities, reduction of the fee, and next appointment as high-importance, low-performance attributes. CONCLUSIONS: To improve the quality of dental service, we need to understand the needs of the dental patients with disability. All attributes that were categorized as high-importance, low-performance must be improved first and should accordingly be used as strategic factors to increase satisfaction with oral medical institutions.
Dental Clinics ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Fees and Charges ; Humans ; Marketing ; Professionalism ; Public Health

As the medical environment and dental services change, the importance of educating dentists in responses to systemic emergencies is increasing. The current student-oriented education paradigm is moving towards training students in the abilities required to address the daily crises they will face, while also providing them with the ability to deliver knowledge. Before addressing a patient's situation, emergency physicians begin by diagnosing symptoms. As they must decide on the tests and treatments that are immediately required and must solve problems through interdisciplinary treatment, emergency physicians require additional skills and communication abilities besides clinical knowledge. Since dentistry colleges provide education that emphasizes the skills dentists require to treat oral diseases, they do not have sufficient time to teach emergency care. Additionally, because their professors lack expertise in pedagogy, dental students also have insufficient motivation to study the pathophysiology of systemic diseases. This review proposes a direction of teaching that can help dental students recognize problems and situations in emergency cases and that can help them develop their capability to immediately make a decision and resolve the problem. To do this, the author surveyed the educational philosophy and knowledge provided in the instructional design of clinical professors who give lectures on emergency care, and also examined the teaching methods of the learner-oriented education paradigm.
Communication ; Dentistry* ; Dentists ; Education* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medical Services* ; Emergency Treatment ; Humans ; Lectures ; Motivation ; Philosophy ; Students, Dental ; Teaching