{"title":"Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Standardized Dental Implant Curriculum for Nigeria's Dental Schools.","authors":"Uvoh Onoriobe, Berna Saglik, Cortino Sukotjo, Marianella Sierraalta, Michael Razzoog, Sompop Bencharit","doi":"10.1002/jdd.13957","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Dental implant education in many African countries, including Nigeria, is limited due to a lack of expertise and resources. This study assessed the status of implant education in Nigeria's 13 dental schools, evaluated faculty and student willingness to implement a standardized curriculum, and explored student perceptions of implant education.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study with two surveys was conducted in 2020. Survey I targeted faculty overseeing predoctoral curricula, while Survey II assessed dental students' perceptions of implant education. Primary outcomes included implant course offerings, faculty willingness to adopt an integrated curriculum, and student perceptions of implant training across fifth- and sixth-year students and residents.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The response rate was 64% for Survey I and 65.6% for Survey II. Less than half (45%) of dental schools required implant education, though all faculty (100%) supported online implant courses. Barriers included financial constraints (27%), curricular time (36%), and lack of faculty expertise (27%). Implant courses were primarily taught by restorative departments (53%), with 88% delivered in the final (sixth) year. While 79.8% of students reported exposure to implantology, only 19% felt the coverage was sufficient. Interest in incorporating implants into future practice was high (92%, 87%, and 91% in fifth-year students, sixth-year students, and residents, respectively). However, formal implant education was lower among fifth-year students (49%) compared to residents (81%, p < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There is a strong consensus to improve implant education in Nigeria. More comprehensive implant courses are needed to support future practitioners and enhance patient care.</p>","PeriodicalId":50216,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Dental Education","volume":" ","pages":"e13957"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Dental Education","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.13957","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Dental implant education in many African countries, including Nigeria, is limited due to a lack of expertise and resources. This study assessed the status of implant education in Nigeria's 13 dental schools, evaluated faculty and student willingness to implement a standardized curriculum, and explored student perceptions of implant education.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study with two surveys was conducted in 2020. Survey I targeted faculty overseeing predoctoral curricula, while Survey II assessed dental students' perceptions of implant education. Primary outcomes included implant course offerings, faculty willingness to adopt an integrated curriculum, and student perceptions of implant training across fifth- and sixth-year students and residents.
Results: The response rate was 64% for Survey I and 65.6% for Survey II. Less than half (45%) of dental schools required implant education, though all faculty (100%) supported online implant courses. Barriers included financial constraints (27%), curricular time (36%), and lack of faculty expertise (27%). Implant courses were primarily taught by restorative departments (53%), with 88% delivered in the final (sixth) year. While 79.8% of students reported exposure to implantology, only 19% felt the coverage was sufficient. Interest in incorporating implants into future practice was high (92%, 87%, and 91% in fifth-year students, sixth-year students, and residents, respectively). However, formal implant education was lower among fifth-year students (49%) compared to residents (81%, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: There is a strong consensus to improve implant education in Nigeria. More comprehensive implant courses are needed to support future practitioners and enhance patient care.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Dental Education (JDE) is a peer-reviewed monthly journal that publishes a wide variety of educational and scientific research in dental, allied dental and advanced dental education. Published continuously by the American Dental Education Association since 1936 and internationally recognized as the premier journal for academic dentistry, the JDE publishes articles on such topics as curriculum reform, education research methods, innovative educational and assessment methodologies, faculty development, community-based dental education, student recruitment and admissions, professional and educational ethics, dental education around the world and systematic reviews of educational interest. The JDE is one of the top scholarly journals publishing the most important work in oral health education today; it celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2016.