Journal of dental education
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This study investigates whether female and male full-time dental faculty members in U. S. dental schools differ in their workplace experiences and perceptions. A questionnaire was mailed to the 2,203 U. ⋯ We thus concluded that female and male faculty members differ in their experiences and perceptions of the academic climate at U. S. dental schools. These results may be useful when school leaders explore effective recruitment and retention strategies for dental faculty members.
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Providing oral health care to rural populations in the United States is a major challenge. Lack of community water fluoridation, dental workforce shortages, and geographical barriers all aggravate oral health and access problems in the largely rural Northwest. Children from low-income and minority families and children with special needs are at particular risk. ⋯ The program also partnered with local dentists to ensure a referral network for children with identified disease at the family medicine training sites. Pediatric dentistry residents assisted in didactic and hands-on training of family medicine residents. Future topics for oral health training of family physicians are suggested.
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The elderly constitute the fastest growing segment of the U. S. population. Dental schools must educate dental students so that they are competent and confident in managing the treatment needs of elderly patients. ⋯ S. predoctoral dental curriculum. The format of teaching the subject varies considerably among the dental schools. Although didactic teaching of geriatric dentistry has increased markedly in the last two decades, clinical experience, both intramurally and extramurally, did not keep pace.
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Recent reports have indicated the need to improve the diversity in the dental profession's workforce. The enrollment of underrepresented minority students in the nation's dental schools must increase to accomplish this goal. ⋯ While each dental school in the United States is unique, a product of its history and institutional culture, and will, therefore, create an environment for diversity in different ways, it is appropriate to describe lessons learned in individual schools as they strive for diversity. The purpose of this paper is to describe how one dental school, the Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery, approached diversity, so that appropriate strategies can be shared among schools.