A Global Teaching Initiative: Improving Vietnamese Dental Student Training

Abstract

Developing countries such as Vietnam often look to the United States for guidance in its professional dental training. The United States has a long history of providing foreign medical aid to Vietnam with varied effectiveness. In this pilot study, we measured the effects of a teaching intervention in restorative dentistry on near-graduating dental students at the University of Hue in Vietnam. Students prepared tooth #3.6 for Distal Occlusal (DO) amalgam using plastic teeth with no instructor oversight, followed by a short lecture presentation and an introduction of self-evaluation and peer-evaluation techniques. A subsequent preparation of the same tooth was submitted two days after this teaching intervention to assess the effects of these teaching strategies. Submitted models were scored using a standardized grading sheet and the means were calculated to be 44% pre-intervention and 89% post-intervention. This condensed teaching intervention resulted in significantly improved student preparation skills (p < 0.0001). As Vietnam works to improve its dental education system, teaching initiatives can be valuable in the development of professionals and, in turn, help the patients they serve.