Approaches to Continuing Professional Development in Dental Traumatology-A Qualitative Study of General Dentists' Experiences.

Abstract

Background: Dentists require continuous professional development (CPD) to maintain and enhance the quality of their services. However, there remains a gap in our understanding of the most effective methods for delivering such professional education.

Objective: In order to develop CPD that is relevant and effective for general dentists, the aim of this study was to explore general dentists' experiences with and attitudes about two educational formats in dental traumatology: purely theoretical asynchronous webinars versus webinars complemented by an in-person, interactive course.

Design, participants, and setting: All general dentists in the public dental service (PDS) in the Vestland County of Western Norway participated in an educational intervention in dental traumatology between November 2022 and February 2023. We recruited dentists from a group that attended webinars alone (N = 31) and a group that participated in webinars combined with an interactive in-person course (N = 36), referred to as a combined approach. In total, 16 dentists agreed to participate in focus group discussions through the electronic platform Teams. The discussions were video recorded, and the transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Prior to the focus group discussions, participants completed a questionnaire with demographic information and course evaluation.

Results: Participants represented diversity in clinical experience, age, gender, and they were overall satisfied with the content, organization, and learning outcomes of the given educational formats. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis: Webinars offer flexibility but with limited learning outcomes; a combined approach supports knowledge application; balancing feasibility with participatory learning. While webinars in dental traumatology as an educational format offer accessibility and flexibility, the combined format made the general dentists reflect more, in addition to gaining ideas on better workflow as a team in their clinical settings. Regarding course design, results revealed the importance of well-structured content, interaction with relevant educators, and the need for a combined educational model.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that a combined educational format with high-quality content and a degree of interaction is the preferred method for CPD in dental traumatology for general dentists.