2017 Volume 33 Issue 2 Pages 106-114
Abstract Rapid population aging is a serious problem in Japanese society today. Since many of the patients visiting Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital are elderly with complicated oral and systemic backgrounds, we have been suffering from a shortage of suitable patients for the undergraduate student clinic. Moreover, the number of patients who agree to be treated at the clinic has been decreasing as patients’ requirements have become increasingly difficult to fulfill. Thus, despite the fact that we have been letting the students treat patients by themselves, they must acquire clinical skills with a very limited number of patients. To solve this problem, we developed six new practice models that require comprehensive treatment planning and have been providing these models as a preclinical program. This program is for 5th-year undergraduate dental students just before actual clinical practice. Each model has the following features : teeth requiring extraction, dental caries, missing teeth, accumulation of dental calculus, a multi-root tooth with deep periodontal pockets with signs of hemi-section or tri-section, and teeth requiring endodontic treatment. Although we are currently using rubrics to assess student performance, the assessment methodology still requires some improvement. Here, we introduce our novel comprehensive model practice course. We have evaluated student satisfaction and the effectiveness of this program through questionnaires at the end of each course. Student responses to date have been positive. As a result, this study indicated that our comprehensive model practice course is effective for pre-clinical training.
