Scambler S, Ahmed T A, Aiyere J, Cheng E. Diversifying the dental curriculum: A review of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree reading lists in a UK dental school. Eur J Dent Educ 2023; DOI: 10.1111/eje.12915.

White, male authors dominate the teaching material.

On qualification, dentists will treat a heterogenous group of patients, of all ages and ethnicities. To be prepared for this, the teaching in dental school needs to be equally broad and representative. Using the reading lists for all subjects and modules over the five years of one UK dental school, the authors (three of whom are/were students) reflect on their content, source and authorship.

A total of 286 journal articles (textbooks were excluded) were identified and publication date, gender of the lead author, gender of all authors and geographic location of affiliated institutions were recorded. Only 27% of the authors were female, with a similar imbalance in lead author. The majority of the papers were sourced from the UK and the USA with only 3% including an author from the Global South.

Reading lists were dominated by white, male authors from the Global North, an author profile which does not represent the gender balance of the dental profession in the UK nor the patient base of most dental practitioners. Lack of research from the Global South leads to a body of knowledge which does not reflect the health priorities of low-to-middle-income countries.