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Dental undergraduate students' perceptions about placements in primary dental care during the undergraduate dental curriculum: a qualitative evidence synthesis

British Dental Journal volume 233, pages 141–147 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction The General Dental Council has advised that undergraduate dental students spend time in primary care, with their experiences evaluated. A systematic review of medical students' primary care placements has been performed but no similar review of dental students is present. This review aimed to synthesise reported opinions of UK dental students on their placements in primary care.

Methods Medline, Embase, Education Resources Information Center and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature were searched for qualitative data studies involving UK dental students who had been on placement during training. The qualitative Critical Appraisal Skills Programme guidance was used to appraise studies and a best fit framework synthesis employed.

Results Students generally portrayed positive accounts of placements. Themes relating to learning environment, support for learning, real world dentistry, preparation for practice life and competing cultures were developed.

Discussion Students thrived when hierarchy between themselves and their supervisors was flattened but the competing cultures of the dental hospital and placements appear to be an area that needs addressing. There are vast differences in the placements being offered.

Conclusions Undergraduates mostly enjoy and value their time on placement; however, further research in the area is needed to explore the different kinds of placements available and to inform policy on providing effective training.

Key points

  • Undergraduate dental students enjoy and value their time in primary care placements.

  • Further research is needed to explore the different kinds of placements available.

  • We recommend that dental schools collectively share their quality assurance processes for placements to help facilitate shared learning and best practice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Dentist, Richmond Dental Care, Sheffield S13 8LU, UK

    Jennie Ross

  2. Academic Clinical Fellow in Primary Dental Care, University of Sheffield, UK

    Adam Holder

Authors
  1. Jennie Ross
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  2. Adam Holder
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Contributions

Jennie Ross was responsible for the original idea and formulating the protocol initially, and writing the manuscript. Adam Holder assisted with the drafting and critical revision of the article. Both authors performed the data collection, analysis and interpretation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennie Ross.

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The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. As this paper is a systematic review, no ethical approval was required.

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Ross, J., Holder, A. Dental undergraduate students' perceptions about placements in primary dental care during the undergraduate dental curriculum: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Br Dent J 233, 141–147 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-022-4457-6

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