Implementation of EBM in small group instruction

Aims: Is it practically possible to implement EBM with problem-oriented questions into pregraduated dentistry education? Materials and Methods: Within a voluntary tutorial the participating dentistry students were offered a EBM basic course. Followed by basic EBM concept teaching, a PICO question was explored according to EMB-principles (PRISMA-protocol), which the students decided on themselves. The students examined the problem under scientific aspects, to see if carrying sterile gloves (compared to not using sterile gloves) reduces the postoperative infection rate during simple surgical operations of the oral cavity. Results: The systematic review was conducted by using predefined search words in PubMed and Cochrane Library as well as a manual search in scientific dental journals. The selection by the inclusion criterion (prospectively-designed studies) resulted in 4 studies with altogether 1219 patients. There was no difference in the post postoperative infection rate. The results were discussed with the students and the respective studies weighted. The students presented the results of the their work on the german national dentistry congress as a poster. Also the review of the corresponding article is in final stage of a successful completion. Conclusions: EBM is considered as a important part of the dentistry education, but its implication into the teaching programs is often not realized. Our project could point out the successful application of EBM into dentistry training. This also resulted in a training in scientific presentations and publication. By using iPads in follow-up projects an advancement of small tutorials in the sense "of the Blended Learning" is achieved. Furthermore the project is extended throughout the University Medical Center Mainz to intensify the networking between methodical-scientific and clinical-practical training. Therefore a postgraduated training ("Train the Teacher") is in preparation. Keywords: EBM, small group instruction, zahnärztliche Ausbildung, Lehrforschung