Current status of predoctoral implant dentistry education – student’s didactic performance and self-assessment: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: To describe the current state of predoctoral dental implant education in terms of educational outcomes and the student’s perception of the associated curriculum. Methods: A database search was conducted using Medline (OVID), EMBASE, ERIC (Education Resources and Information Centre) and Web of Science electronic sources. Two reviewers thoroughly reviewed the papers in accordance with the specific selection criteria after carefully choosing the abstracts that seemed to meet the initial selection criterion for full article retrieval.

Results: 15 articles were included, which were divided into two distinct groups: those that addressed educational outcomes and those that addressed students’ perceptions. Knowledge was assessed by questionnaire surveys, and it was found that most of the students were poorly to moderately well informed. There was a positive increase in student perception after taking the implant courses.

Clinical significance: Although predoctoral education in most dental schools across the world now includes implant dentistry as a core component, the degree of integration varies greatly. To increase the proficiency of predoctoral students around the world in performing implant treatments, it is necessary, according to this systematic review, to create a uniform, well-structured predoctoral implant curriculum and guidelines that include didactic, laboratory, preclinical, and clinical components.