Preclinical endodontic teaching

جلاع ررقم سيردتل ةيلومش ةرظن يطعت ةساردلا هذه :فادهلأا سردي يذلاو ةيريرسلا لبقام ةلحرلما يف نانسلأا باصعاو روذج .ةيدوعسلا ةيبرعلا ةكلملماب نانسأ بط تايلك 6 قرعأ يف ىلع تجرخ يتلاو نانسلأا بط تايلك رايتخا تم :ةقيرطلا ةساردلا تلمش دقو .نانسلأا ةيلك بلاط نم ينتعفد لقلأا ةكم ةقطنم نم ةيلك ،)ىطسولا( ضايرلا ةقطنم نم ينتيلك نم ةيلك ، )ةيبونلجا( اهبأ ةقطنم نم ةيلك ، )ةيبرغلا( ةمركلما لاسرإ تم .ةيقرشلا ةقطنلما نم ةيلكو )ىطسولا( ميصقلا ةقطنم يف تايلك 6 يف تاررقلما ىلع ينفرشملل ينورتكلإ نايبتسا يحاون تلمش لااؤس 20 نم ةلئسلأا تنوكت .ةروكذلما قطانلما لبقام ةلحرلما يف نانسلاا باصعاو روذج جلاع ررقم نم ةديدع .ةيريرسلا سيردتلا ةئيه ءاضعأ نم ريبك ددع دوجو تحضوأ :جئاتنلا اوناك ريتسجالما ةلمح امنيب )21=ن( ةاروتكدلا ةلمح نم روذلجا جلاعل يدوعسلا دروبلا ةلمح مث نمو ) 15=ن( لقا ةبلطلل ينسردلما ةبسن ديدتح تم كلذكو .)8=ن( باصعلأاو تايلك تس لصأ نم 5 نا ظحولو.1:8 ىلإ 1:2 نم حوارتتو لك.تاونقلا ريضتح يف مويناتيات لكينلا درابم تمدختسا لوط ديدحتل ةيساسأ ةقيرطك ةعشلأا تمدختسا تايلكلا ةعشلأا مدختست طقف ينتيلك نإف جئاتنلا بسحو تاونقلا .ررقلما سيردت يف ةينورتكللاا جلاع ررقلم سردلما جهنلما نأ ةساردلا هذه نم حضتا :ةتمالخا براقم ةيدوعسلا ةيبرعلا ةكلملما يف نانسلأا باصعأو روذج ةسارد جاتحن .ةيبورولأا لودلا يف مظعم سردلما ررقلما سفنل ًادج ةيدوعسلا يف نانسلأا بط تايلك عيمج ةيطغتل رثكأ ةيليصفت سيردت متي ررقم لضفلأ روصت عضو ىلع ةرداق نوكتو Objectives: To provide an overview of the general curricula in preclinical endodontic training from 6 established dental schools in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study was conducted in January 2014 including only schools that had more than 2 groups of student graduates prior to the study. We included 2 dental schools from the Central region, one from Qassim region, one from the Makkah region (west), one from Abha region (south west), and one from the eastern region. An internet-based questionnaire was sent to the course directors of preclinical endodontics department of the 6 schools. The survey comprised 20 questions that examined various aspects of preclinical endodontics. Results: It was demonstrated that a significant number of faculty members had Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees (n=21), Master’s degrees (n=15), and Saudi board certifications (n=8). We determined that the faculty to student ratio varied from 2:1 to 8: 1 among the colleges. The participating dental schools were found to teach the Step Back, as well as the Step Down techniques for root canal preparation. Five of the 6 schools implemented the use of nickel titanium rotary instruments. All dental schools predominantly used radiographs as the means of the working length determination. Conclusion: The curriculum for preclinical endodontics in Saudi Arabia is comparable to that followed in most European countries. A more comprehensive survey is needed that would involve more schools to formulate generalized guidelines for preclinical endodontic training in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med J 2015; Vol. 36 (1): 94-100 doi: 10.15537/smj.2015.1.9336 From the Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Dammam, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Received 19th May 2014. Accepted 17th November 2014. Address correspondence and reprint request to: Dr. Emad AlShwaimi, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Dammam, PO Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tel. +966 (13) 3331404. Fax. +966 (13) 8572624. E-mail: [email protected] 94 Saudi Med J 2015; Vol. 36 (1) www.smj.org.sa OPEN ACCESS 95 www.smj.org.sa Saudi Med J 2015; Vol. 36 (1) Preclinical endodontic teaching in KSA ... Narayanaraopeta & AlShwaimi E treatment is performed in a major portion of dental emergencies worldwide, and there is an increasing need to educate and train dental students in this specialty, such that they are prepared to perform better and predict treatment outcomes. Several studies particularly in Europe have demonstrated that the standard of endodontic treatment provided by the general dentists is not high.1-4 Although many factors might be responsible for this inadequacy, a major contribution is attributed to the deficiencies in endodontic training provided to dental graduates of most universities.5 To overcome the shortcomings in the curricula of various universities in Europe, the European Society of Endodontology published guidelines for the undergraduate curriculum in exndodontology in 1992 and 2001, to ensure a minimum level of competence in endodontics before graduation.6 A revised guideline was published in 2013 in response to various studies that continued to show a decreased standard endodontic treatment in the European populations.7-10 Dentistry as an art and science has always relied on comprehensive and effective training of dental students at the preclinical, as well as the clinical levels. A competent preclinical curriculum affords students with knowledge and skills required to transit comfortably into clinical settings, and to confront the various diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of clinical courses. Various studies have shown that shortcomings in preclinical training affect the clinical treatment provided by dental students.11-14 Sonntag et al5 stated that although the European Union has directives and guidelines devised to assure comparable and acceptable standards of dental education and competence from training programs, there is a major difference among countries with respect to the curriculum. The first dental school in the Arabian Gulf region began in Saudi Arabia in the late 1970’s, and there are currently 24 dental schools in Saudi Arabia, of which 17 are government-owned, and 7 are run by private organizations serving different regions, or provinces of the kingdom. The curriculum of the dental schools was initially based on that of schools in North America, and lately, many modifications have been implemented to conform to other international standards, as well as to meet the treatment needs of local patients. Newer colleges are inclined toward developing their curricula based on those of more established colleges. As no study has been published regarding the preclinical endodontic curriculum in Saudi Arabia, this paper aims to provide an overview of the general curricula followed by 6 established dental schools in the kingdom, in which endodontics is taught as a separate specialty. Methods. The survey comprised 20 questions that examined various aspects of preclinical endodontic training in dental schools. Some of the questions were formulated based on the data provided in studies by Sonntag et al5 in 2008, and Qualtrough et al15 in 1999. Most of the questions were multiple choices, which options were provided to the respondents, and they were asked to select the most relevant answer. Some of the questions were descriptive, and the respondents were free to write an answer. The respondents were given the opportunity to select more than one answer to the 3 questions. The questionnaire was uploaded onto the internet-based Survey Monkey, and the requests were sent to the course directors of the preclinical endodontics from 6 dental schools in Saudi Arabia. The inclusion criteria were that the government-owned schools should be well-established with more than 2 groups of students having graduated prior to this study. The selection was intended to be representative of the different regions in Saudi Arabia. The sample size was inclusive to all the preclinical endodontic students enrolled at the time of the study. Prior to the survey, the participants were given a briefing regarding the required survey details and the goals to be achieved by this survey. The briefings were conducted by personal telephone calls to the participating course directors. The confidentiality and anonymity of the survey results were of primary consideration, and the evaluators were blind to the data collected from the respondents. To achieve these goals, the names of the participating schools and their respective course directors were not mentioned in the survey. Only the regions of Saudi Arabia, from which the colleges were selected were mentioned. Our study was conducted in January 2014 and included 2 dental schools from Riyadh region (central), one from Qassim region (central), one from the Makah region (west), one from the Abha region (south west) and one from the eastern region. Results. Student-supervisor ratio and the availability of specialized faculty. All the participating schools taught the course for a full year during the 4th Disclosure. Authors have no conflict of interests, and the work was not supported or funded by any drug company.