Evaluation of Current Knowledge of Genetics Among Dental Students, Residents and Dental Hygiene Students

<p>Genetic testing is increasingly available in clinical settings. To provide personalized patient care, dental health professionals must have a greater understanding of genetics. The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) credentials all dental schools in the United States and currently does not mandate genetics training for official approval of programs. There is little information about dental genetics education and no known studies that have evaluated dental students, residents and dental hygiene students’ knowledge of human genetics. It is crucial to assess genetics knowledge of this population to ascertain if dental schools are preparing students for the future of personalized dentistry. This study assessed the genetics knowledge of future dental health professionals using a genetic assessment tool at the University of Texas Houston School of Dentistry. Participants included 240 dental students, 64 dental hygiene students, and 89 dental residents. The reference group included 155 medical students and 14 genetic counseling students. The overall response rate was 81%. Of the 15 study groups, 3 out of 12 groups from the dental school population and 2 out of 3 groups from the reference population received a passing score of 70%. Participants with no previous genetic courses scored significantly lower than those with three or four genetics courses (p</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Masters of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis (MS)

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• McGruder, Carla

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jacqueline T. Hecht
• Alix D'Angelo
• Brett Chiquet

• genetics
• dental education
• genetics education
• genetics dentistry
• evaluation of dental education
• survey of genetics dental
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Educational Methods
• Medicine and Health Sciences

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/579

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu:utgsbs_dissertations-1616