Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40021880›Full record

ArticleBritish dental journal2025

Overview of statistics teaching within undergraduate programmes in UK and Ireland dental schools.

Sam Leary, Neil Cook, Jing Kang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in British dental journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Sam LearyBristol Dental School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom. s.d.leary@bristol.ac.uk.
Neil CookSchool of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom.
Jing KangFaculty of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, King´s College London, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction The United Kingdom (UK) General Dental Council's (GDC's) learning outcomes for undergraduate dental students briefly mention critical appraisal but not statistics. Hence, wide variation in statistics teaching across the dental schools is likely but has not yet been well-documented.Methods A survey was conducted to capture the main features of each of the dental degrees in the 18 UK and Ireland dental schools in terms of statistics-related (standalone or as part of other courses/modules) teaching.Results Representatives from all 18 dental schools completed the survey. There were some similarities, such as most using teaching materials specifically developed for their school, and aiming to teach students to understand/interpret but not generate statistics. However, the number/type of staff delivering the teaching, student contact hours, number of statistical concepts taught, whether statistical theory/formulae/packages were used and inclusion in summative assessments varied extensively. Most reported that this teaching was negatively perceived by the students and many felt that changes were needed.Discussion and conclusion This comprehensive review of undergraduate dental statistics-related provision allows dental schools to compare and contrast their own teaching, which is very timely given the imminent need to implement a new GDC framework. Guidelines to encourage more standardised teaching should be developed to improve the ability of newly qualified dentists to practise evidence-based dentistry.

Indexed as

Education, DentalSchools, DentalStatistics as TopicCurriculumHumansIrelandSurveys and QuestionnairesTeachingUnited Kingdom

Identifiers

PMID40021880
PMCPMC11870841

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.