A national survey of oral health education in U.S. allopathic and osteopathic schools

Background: Oral health (OH) is an important topic often neglected in medical education. Caries is the most prevalent chronic childhood disease. Periodontitis leads to heart disease and uncontrolled adult diabetes. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has advised medical schools to create a comprehensive OH curriculum; however, it is unclear to what extent schools have done so.

Methods: Education Deans at all U.S. allopathic and osteopathic medical schools were emailed a survey assessing time dedicated to OH education, OH topics covered, student evaluation methods, awareness of national guidelines, and plans to develop OH curricula. Results: 88 schools responded (57% response rate). 10% provide 0 hours of OH education; only 31% offer 5+ hours/year. Quantity of curriculum was unrelated to dental school affiliation or geography; however, school size was significantly positively correlated with OH education hours. Topics/programs covered in OH curricula varied from 10% using hands-on training to 82% covering oral cancers. 30% of schools evaluate students on OH domains primarily assessing knowledge. Awareness of AAMC or existing national curricula was not related to OH curriculum hours.

Conclusions: Small/medium-sized medical schools need targeting for OH curriculum development and implementation. We need to investigate why schools aware of guidelines and available educational materials are not implementing a more robust OH curriculum to enhance medical student education and, ultimately, the community's overall health. Schools report increased interest in implementing established OH curriculum rather than designing their own; thus, promotion of existing educational curricula needs improvement.