Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41746759›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe2026

Teaching Undergraduate Special Care Dentistry in the UK and Ireland: What? How? When? How Much? Who?

Caoimhin Mac Giolla Phadraig, Claire Curtin, Richard Fitzgerald, Ellie Heidari, Lois Gall, Rebecca Wassall, Yvonne M Halliwell, Claire Sims, Andrew Kwasnicki, Nicholas Beacher

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Article in European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe, 2026. 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

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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

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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

10 authors.

Caoimhin Mac Giolla PhadraigDublin Dental University Hospital and School of Dental Science, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7797-1126
Claire CurtinUniversity College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Richard FitzgeraldQueen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Ellie HeidariKing's College London, London, UK.
Lois GallInstitute of Dentistry, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
Rebecca WassallSchool of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6851-5666
Yvonne M HalliwellUniversity of Central Lancashire, Preston, England.
Claire SimsBristol Dental School, Bristol, England.
Andrew KwasnickiLiverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
Nicholas BeacherSchool of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.

Funding

Irish Research eLibrary
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionNew dental graduates are expected to have acquired the skills and behaviours to provide dental care for the population they serve. An ageing population and advances in medicine mean that there are increasing numbers of patients who may require Special Care Dentistry. Special Care Dentistry is the branch of dentistry concerned with access to equitable oral healthcare for people with disabilities and those who are disadvantaged. This study aimed to explore the teaching of Special Care Dentistry (SCD) within undergraduate (UG) dental curricula in the UK and Ireland. MATERIALS AND

methodsA cross-sectional online survey was distributed to all SCD teaching leads within 18 universities delivering undergraduate dental curricula in the UK and Ireland. Respondents described their curriculum, teaching and assessment, as well as the barriers and facilitators they faced. Qualitative responses were collected as open-ended text within the survey and coded independently by two authors.

resultsFrom 12 respondents (67% response rate), the average time given to SCD during training over the whole UG programme was reportedly 47.4 h. While 83% (n = 10) reported that students observed treatment delivery for special care patients, only 50% (n = 6) reported actual student-delivered care. Almost all (n = 10) applied the International Association of Disability and Oral Health curriculum, as recognised by the Association of Dental Education Europe (ADEE). Attitudes towards SCD from academic staff outside of the specialty were seen as the biggest barrier to SCD teaching, whereas the availability of academic staff and emphasis on SCD within the curriculum were facilitators. DISCUSSION: The teaching of SCD in dental schools in the UK and Ireland is markedly varied, with respondents highlighting barriers to the delivery of teaching and learning in this area.

conclusionsThere is a persistent need to standardise undergraduate exposure to patients requiring Special Care Dentistry across Ireland and the UK. This will equip the future dental profession to adequately and equitably care for the whole of society, regardless of ability.

Indexed as

Dental Care for Persons with DisabilitiesEducation, DentalCross-Sectional StudiesCurriculumHumansIrelandSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited Kingdomcurriculumspecial care dentistryundergraduate

Identifiers

PMID41746759
PMCPMC13686677

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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.