Regent’s Refl ection

Dental Education: A Story of Commitment, Passion, Dedication and Adaptation

Cecile A. Feldman, DMD, MBA, FACD Dr. Feldman is an At Large Regent on the ACD Board of Regents, and the Dean of Rutgers School of Dental Medicine

This last year and a half has certainly been like no other. Our world has dramatically changed, and dental education is no exception. Our nation should be proud of the roles dental schools played throughout the pandemic, which included provision of emergency services when many private practices were closed, participating in vaccination and research efforts, and providing community support services. And throughout it all, we continued to provide the highest quality education experience possible using new pedagogy and assessment methods.

Our schools have served as examples, demonstrating the values that all graduates (and dentists) should possess. First, was demonstrating our obligations to society. Dental schools responded to a multitude of needs early on, not just by providing urgent care to their patients, but serving as resources for their entire communities.

Keeping patients out of hospitals for emergency oral health needs was a major goal as many hospital emergency rooms were overrun with patients. Many of us supported the work of frontline hospital caregivers through volunteer efforts and, in some cases, the uses of our facilities and resources.

We established teledentistry services, demonstrating the benefits and challenges of remote care. For many of us, it became a vital part of our clinical mission during the pandemic, helping us determine which cases required emergency care and recommend treatment options when in person care wasn’t possible. Despite its obvious limitations, we saw how teledentistry can augment traditional care, especially for those who have limited access to dentists or are anxious about in-person visits. We discovered that it can be conducive to regular visits and preventive care. In terms of academic instruction, the challenges we have faced during the pandemic are familiar to dental schools nationally and internationally. This past year saw tremendous changes in curricula. Within a record number of weeks, dental school faculty rose to the occasion by moving from in-person to virtual didactic teaching. Simulation enabled schools to enhance student experiences ensuring that our graduates obtained all competencies. We also found new ways of delivering in-person lessons to allow for social distancing. Dental students in America and abroad demonstrated incredible resilience, assisting each other as they worked in environments that limited their interaction and normal support structures. As we all know, dental education is extremely demanding and stressful, yet our students thrived, meeting each challenge with their hopes and dreams. Many stepped forward during the height of the COVID-19 crisis, providing leadership and examples of courage and dedication to our fellow health professional students. Modifications to our clinical facilities informed dental practices of actions to be taken to create safe environments for our patients; and new safety protocols were implemented, enabling care continuation at a time when most were staying home. Like all frontline healthcare workers, dental students and faculty adapted to a spectrum of new PPE and coped with shortages early on. Until the COVID-19 vaccine became more widely available, we created testing protocols for faculty, staff and students. Research conducted by dental school faculty helped develop ways of managing the pandemic through methods that could limit transmission and improve diagnostic and treatment efforts, both within our profession and beyond. As providers who work in an environment of aerosolized saliva, we offered invaluable insights and clinical data. For all of us in dental academia, the COVID-19 pandemic was an ordeal like no other. But it has helped us all evolve as providers and educators, while transforming the field in ways that will continue long after the worst has subsided.