Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a consensus among educational leaders in the field of dental anatomy as to which teaching methods and materials will most likely become dominant in teaching dental anatomy; and if there were changes, when these changes would occur. Methods: The survey method selected, the Delphi Technique, allows for a group of experts to “discuss” an issue via serial rounds of mail surveys. A summary of the majority and minority opinions are shared with the opposite groups, who are then given the option of defending their point of view or joining the ‘other' side. Three rounds of surveys were conducted and a consensus was defined as 80% agreement during rounds 1 and 2 or a 70% agreement during round 3. Results: A stratified, randomly selected group of US dental anatomy course directors (n=20) who had an average of 17.6 years teaching, with a mean of 8.8 years teaching dental anatomy, participated in this study. A consensus of these experts felt that internet/computer based methods will substantially replace dental anatomy lecture within three to five years. The experts also felt that an alternative method of teaching will not substantially replace the dental anatomy laboratory session. In addition, they felt that blue inlay wax would remain the material of choice for use in the pre-clinical laboratory. The final research question concerned the sequencing of dental anatomy within the overall dental curriculum. Here the consensus opinion of the expert panel was that dental anatomy should be an independent course taught concurrently with gross anatomy. Conclusion: Using the Delphi Technique, a panel of experts was able to come to a consensus about future trends in teaching dental anatomy.

Back to the Education Research Program
Back to the IADR/AADR/CADR 83rd General Session (March 9-12, 2005)

Top Level Search