Introduction: Dental Student Research

Mariela Padilla, DDS, M.Ed, is the director of Online Programs and Telehealth and an associate professor of clinical dentistry at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC.

Every year, the Journal of the California Dental Association sets aside an issue for dental students, and their mentors, to share their academic findings. It has been a great pleasure to support those who are publishing in this issue and to see firsthand the role of mentors in shaping the next generation of dental practitioners.

A successful professional can be recognized by different achievements or capacities — such as diagnostic accuracy, skillful procedure execution, financial sustainability and public recognition — but also as someone who maintains an appropriate balance between technical competencies and essential social skills. These “soft” skills prioritize communication, emphasizing respect, professionalism, ethics and an understanding of diversity. Soft skills include personal values and interpersonal skills, and some specific examples are communication, leadership, critical thinking and problem-solving.[1]

The ability to communicate assertively and effectively is one of the most important attributes in the dental profession. Studies have demonstrated that effective providerpatient communication is an asset in getting the required information and developing rapport.[2] Furthermore, good communication skills increase dental patients’ satisfaction and treatment outcomes.[3] Communication skills in the health care environment are to be continuously cultivated and nurtured, and clinicians should always look for opportunities to do so by identifying and taking advantage of opportunities to educate and promote oral health.

Leadership skills are key as the discipline moves into the interprofessional model of care, where each discipline contributes to understanding the needs of a patient in a more comprehensive fashion.[4]

Critical thinking in dentistry may relate to exploring different perspectives that a practitioner must consider, facilitating the resolution of complex problems and fostering professional behaviors.[5] To improve these skills, clinicians might benefit from discussions with colleagues, attending professional meetings and reading current literature.[6]

Evolutions in science, new understanding of diseases and technological innovations have changed the professional practice of dentistry. Thirty years ago, having an electrical dental amalgamator was considered an innovation. Guidelines and protocols are important, but best practices have to be adapted, and clinicians must find ways to stay current in this field of continuous evolution. Thus, other soft skills that need to be cultivated include adaptability and flexibility in an ethical and responsible environment.

The only way to adapt to changes is to recognize them, and if possible, the clinician should look to anticipate changes by identifying developments in the environment. When the context changes, a flexible response to the new demands is desirable, and the clinician will benefit from the ability to adjust to situational shifts.[7] The best strategies to foresee potential changes and to respond in a timely fashion are to participate in continuous education and current literature reviews, to identify trends and to analyze if the science supports updating a clinical practice. The clinician has the responsibility to incorporate evidence-based guidelines, using solid scientific bases for generating trustworthy recommendations.[8] By understanding the state of the art in the discipline and communicating with others respectfully and effectively, the decision-making process regarding diagnosis, treatment planning and execution will follow professional ethics and responsibility.

This issue features clear examples of the application of soft skills to respond to the great disruptive event of our time, a pandemic. The California dental schools have adapted, showing flexibility when facing a changing reality. The leadership looked into solutions for complex situations and innovated with hybrid models, both for teaching and for care provision. In addition, the basic research needed to understand the disease’s mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets continued, ensuring that the training of creative minds and the discovery journey did not stop. New protocols came into play, and as the science moved forward with data, academia was able to implement safe environments to ensure the continuity of the learning process and the training of the next generation of dental professionals.

The examples chronicled here provide ample evidence that, behind that kind gaze we see in the eyes of our administrators, faculty, students, staff and patients, there are moving forces that are ready to meet and adapt to even the most difficult circumstances.

REFERENCES

1. Gonzalez MA, Abu Kasim NH, Naimie Z. Soft skills and dental education. Eur J Dent Educ 2013 May;17(2):73–82. doi: 10.1111/eje.12017. Epub 2013 Jan 10. PMID: 23574183.

2. Tseng W, Pleasants E, Ivey SL, Sokal-Gutierrez K, Kumar J, Hoeft KS, Horowitz AM, Ramos-Gomez F, Sodhi M, Liu J, Neuhauser L. Barriers and facilitators to promoting oral health literacy and patient communication among dental providers in California. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Dec 30;18(1):216. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18010216. PMID: 33396682; PMCID: PMC7795206.

3. Ayn C, Robinson L, Nason A, Lovas J. Determining recommendations for improvement of communication skills training in dental education: A scoping review. J Dent Educ 2017 Apr;81(4):479–488. doi: 10.21815/JDE.016.003. PMID: 28365612.

4. Grocock R. Leadership in dentistry. Br Dent J 2020 Jun;228(11):882–885. doi: 10.1038/s41415-020-1633-4. PMID: 32541752.

5. Martin D. A guide to critical thinking: Implications for dental education. Br Dent J 2020 Jul;229(1):52–53. doi: 10.1038/ s41415-020-1648-x. PMID: 32651522.

6. Feller L, Lemmer J, Nemutandani MS, Ballyram R, Khammissa RAG. Judgment and decision-making in clinical dentistry. J Int Med Res 2020 Nov;48(11):300060520972877. doi: 10.1177/0300060520972877. PMID: 33249958; PMCID: PMC7708710.

7. Pruessner L. A cognitive control framework for understanding emotion regulation flexibility. Emotion 2020 Feb;20(1):21–29. doi:10.1037/emo0000658.

8. Djulbegovic B, Guyatt GH. Progress in evidencebased medicine: A quarter century on. Lancet 2017 Jul 22;390(10092):415–423. doi: 10.1016/S01406736(16)31592-6. Epub 2017 Feb 17. PMID: 28215660.