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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Rebecca WassallORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
© 2026 The Author(s). European Journal of Dental Education published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Introduction: New 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 Methods: A 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. Results: From 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. Conclusions: There 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.
Author(s): Mac Giolla Phadraig C, Curtin C, Fitzgerald R, Heidari E, Gall L, Wassall R, Halliwell YM, Sims C, Kwasnicki A, Beacher N
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: European Journal of Dental Education
Year: 2026
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 26/02/2026
Acceptance date: 10/02/2026
Date deposited: 09/03/2026
ISSN (print): 1396-5883
ISSN (electronic): 1600-0579
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/eje.70115
DOI: 10.1111/eje.70115
Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions
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