רפואת הפה והשיניים - עיתון ההסתדרות לרפואת שיניים בישראל - כרך ל"ז, גיליון מס' 3 אב תש"פ

On the face of it…

Does the Coronavirus epidemic affect clinical studies in dentistry?

clinical requirements overall… No doubt, less clinical procedures leads to less training. And looking from the patients’ side, there are of course patients who are in isolation, or those who cannot come but with public transportation, which in itself has a number of limitations, and there are patients who are simply afraid, and therefore prefer not to have elective treatments these days… Might the end result of these factors be that students who are about to begin the clinical years, will end with less training and less ability to properly treat patients once they graduate? The question bothers dental schools around the world, and no definite solution exists. In recent years, many spoke about shortening the number of years in dental studies, is it relevant now? No doubt, the Coronavirus epidemic has caused rethinking on everything concerning learning and teaching. Old paradigms may not be relevant anymore, and we must all find and adopt new insights which fit a different situation, which in itself is subjected to constant, almost daily changes.

The influence of the Coronavirus epidemic on the theoretical studies in dentistry has been dealt with in the last issue of our journal. Obviously, distant learning is the name of the game now. But what about the clinical practical studies? Teaching students while treating patients in the clinic? In most dental schools, students’ clinical work is taking place in a big clinic, often containing dozens of dental units, in an open- space manner. It is difficult to keep safe distance in this situation. In addition, proper protection is required, including long coat (preferably disposable), which is replaced after each patient, a mask, and plastic face protector which covers the whole face. By the way, it is extremely difficult to work with magnifying glasses, mask and face protector, but that is another story, here we talk about a must! One also needs to think about the possibility that a verified Corona patient (or caregiver) is found, an event that affects the whole clinic, patients and caregivers. Keeping safety distance decreases the number of students and patients in the clinic. One option is to work in shifts; this format may require double work by instructors. Another option is to keep the same clinic time, but divide it into two shifts. It probably means that students perform less

Food for thought…

Prof. Benny Peretz

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.3 ז, גיליון ״ פ, כרך ל ״ רפואת הפה והשיניים, אב תש