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© 2019 American Dental Education Association.Valid and reliable assessment of students' knowledge and skills is integral to dental education. However, most faculty members receive no formal training on student assessment techniques. The aim of this study was to quantify the value of a professional development program designed to improve the test item-writing skills of dental faculty members. A quasi-experimental (pretest, intervention, posttest) study was conducted with faculty members in the dental school of Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia. Data assessed were 450 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) from final exams in 15 courses in 2017 (prior to the intervention; pretest) and the same number in 2018 (after the intervention; posttest). The intervention was a faculty development program implemented in 2018 to improve the writing of MCQs. This training highlighted construct-irrelevant variance-the abnormal increase or decrease in test scores due to factors extraneous to constructs of interest-and provided expert advice to rectify flaws. Item analysis of pre- and post-intervention MCQs determined the difficulty index, discrimination index, and proportion of non-functional distractors for each question. MCQs on 2017 and 2018 exams were compared on each of these parameters. Selleck VO-Ohpic The results showed statistically significant improvements in MCQs from 2017 to 2018 on all parameters. MCQs with low discrimination decreased, those with high discrimination increased, and the proportion of questions with more than two non-functional distractors were reduced. These results provide evidence of improved test item quality following implementation of a long-term faculty development program. Additionally, the findings underscore the need for an active dental education department and demonstrate its value for dental schools. © 2019 American Dental Education Association.The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of virtual reality to the conventional analogic training environment and show the complementarity of conventional techniques and virtual reality in the learning of dental students. All 88 first-year dental students at a dental school in France in early 2019 were randomly assigned to one of two groups group 1 (n = 45) was assigned to cavity preparations on a haptic simulator (Virteasy) and group 2 (n = 43) was assigned to conventional practical work on plastic analogue teeth (Kavo). Following three training sessions, the students in group 1 took a final exam on the same plastic analogue teeth exercise. The results showed improvement in the drilling skill of both groups. The simulator-trained group (group 1) had similar results to the plastic analogue-trained group (group 2) in the final test on a plastic analogue tooth. In this study, virtual reality allowed an assessment based on objective criteria and reduced the subjectivity of evaluations conducted on plastic analogue teeth. Considering the saving of supervision and teaching time as well as the material gain offered by virtual reality, the learning methods of haptic simulators are educational options that should be considered by dental educators. © 2019 American Dental Education Association.Historically, predoctoral and advanced dental education programs used two-dimensional panoramic and periapical radiographs for implant planning. Three-dimensional (3D) Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) imaging has improved visualization of anatomic structures that can positively influence implant planning and surgical implant placement. The aim of this study was to assess how U.S. postdoctoral periodontics programs have incorporated CBCT technology into their curricula. A ten-question survey was sent to all 57 U.S. postdoctoral periodontics programs in November-December 2018. Thirty-seven responses were received, for a 65% response rate. All participating programs reported providing residents access to CBCT machines, and most of their residents received some training in the acquisition and interpretation of CBCT images. Nearly all (95%) participating programs provided training to apply implant planning software. Among the participating programs, 14% reported using a surgical guide fabricated with a CBCT scan 76-100% of the time, and 60% reported obtaining a CBCT scan for implant cases 76-100% of the time. These results suggest that, while residents are receiving training in CBCT and implant planning, it is not used often. There may be merit in adopting the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology's recommendation to use 3D imaging for all implant planning, with CBCT as the imaging modality of choice. © 2019 American Dental Education Association.Many health professions have identified characteristics of an effective clinical instructor and used this information to create tools to measure clinical teaching effectiveness (CTE) in their disciplines. However, minimal research has been conducted to explore the attributes of an effective clinical instructor in dental hygiene education. The aim of this study was to identify the attributes of dental hygiene clinical instructors associated with effective teaching. This study used a Delphi research design to iteratively survey an expert panel of 14 dental hygiene instructors in dental hygiene programs from 13 U.S. states in 2019. A cumulative overall response rate of 89.3% was achieved after conducting three survey rounds. The results showed statistically significant consensus on 91 CTE characteristics. Participants agreed that effective clinical instructors should possess the ability to clearly communicate, foster interpersonal relationships, encourage a climate of mutual respect, and act as good role models who are emotionally intelligent, caring, trustworthy, fair, honest, and supportive. There was also agreement that effective clinical instructors were those who created a safe learning environment centered on collaboration, motivation, guidance, and positive corrective feedback. These results were similar to those identified in other health professions. However, there is a need for dental hygiene education to develop its own CTE assessment tool for use in professional development. © 2019 American Dental Education Association.