Analysis of Nationwide Dental Syllabi Toward Systematization of “Medical Behavioral Science” in Dentistry

<p> Abstract Following the presentation of ECFMG in the United States, a Japanese edition of medical education evaluation criteria based on international standards was created in 2012, and medical departments are required to include behavioral science in the curriculum. Therefore, we aimed to systematize medical behavioral science as a new academic field in basic and clinical dentistry, and investigated the syllabi and educational terms that indicate current educational content.</p><p> The syllabi was compiled in academic 2014 for all 29 dental colleges by subject names, number of subjects, grade allocation, and number of credits considered to be included in behavioral sciences. The subject names were various and were widely implemented in the 1st to 6th years. In addition, there were many cases in which placement was made with level awareness in a way that straddled the grade level. The names of the subjects included medical communication, medical personnel training, early experiential education, dental medicine overview, dental history, medical ethics, psychology, medical interviews, medical management, etc. The number of subjects averaged 15.3 (±6.8) and the number of credits averaged 21.6 (±10.8). The academic weightings in the behavioral sciences domain in dentistry education differed significantly between universities. In addition, the terms that should be taught in behavioral sciences include stress and coping, personality, learning theory, patient behavior, self care, self control, self monitoring, group work, coaching, teaching, counseling, cognitive behavior therapy, motivation, etc. The need for learning was high.</p><p> This suggests the need for curriculum guidelines for educational content included in dental behavioral science research.</p>