A multi-centre early evaluation of the effectiveness of workshop teaching to improve the confidence of UK and Irish dental students when addressing patient mental health.Br Dent J 2021; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-3613-8

The General Dental Council states that dentists should be able to 'identify, explain and manage the impact of medical and psychological conditions' as part of patient management. Across five dental schools in the UK and Ireland, surveys evaluating dental students addressing patient mental health revealed low levels of confidence. The online surveys, answered by over 200 students, comprised of four fictional scenarios within a dental setting where patients presented with a mental health condition. Self-confidence levels scored an average of 4.86/10 on a scale of 1 (no confidence) to 10 (absolute confidence). Interestingly, confidence was lowest in a scenario involving a patient with an undiagnosed eating disorder. Following this, workshop interventions focusing on the links between mental health and dentistry were designed and implemented for 63 dental students in total across the five dental schools. Pre- and post-workshop surveys asked the following three questions:

  1. 1.

    Dental signs and symptoms present as a consequence of mental health problems. How confident do you feel about recognising these?

  2. 2.

    How confident would you feel talking to a patient about their mental health?

  3. 3.

    If a patient presented with a mental health problem, how confident would you feel in your ability to address this if necessary?

Collation of results demonstrated an average increase in confidence from 2.3-3.7 on a scale of 1 (not confident) to 5 (very confident). Overall, 96.9% of workshop participants found the workshop useful and 92.5% of participants are now aware of services they can refer patients to. The widespread low confidence of dental students across the online surveys may reflect GDPs' (across the UK and Ireland) ability to address patient mental health and therefore a need for formalised teaching of psychiatry within the dental field. Upon results analysis, the lowest self-reported confidence scenario regarding the eating disorder may be explained by the context of the scenario which required linking severe caries to the patient's psychological health, and as a result, required action. A former Cochrane review and continuing medical education research reinforce the concept that an interactive educational workshop can be an effective educational tool. In summary, this study established a need for teaching of psychiatry within dentistry and that students are receptive to this idea. The researchers plan to develop an interactive module that can be used within dental schools as an introduction to the topic while under COVID-19 restrictions.