Impact of COVID-19 on Dental On-line Continuing Education Industry
As the epidemic continues to spread, getting CE credits through webinars and other e-learning opportunities is likely to remain the norm.
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In recent years, the continuing education (CE) model in dentistry is usually based on face-to-face education in exhibitions and seminars. However, due to the global pandemic of the COVID-19 disease, this form of didactic education has become one of the many areas that have been seriously affected. In response to the development of the form, many dental companies and institutions quickly turned to other teaching methods, dental professionals have also responded positively.
In a recent study published in the European Journal of Dental Education, the team from Peking University School of stomatology attempted to measure the impact of the current COVID-19 outbreak on on on-site dental education in China. Their findings suggest that the continuing dental education (CE) model is shifting from offline to online: only 28.6% of dental institutions offered online dental education before the outbreak-triggered blockade, the figure rose to 100 per cent after the government imposed restrictions on social distance. Online continuing education courses have proven to be just as effective as face-to-face education, according to an analysis of previous medical literature by the study’s authors. In addition, they believe that the enthusiasm of dental professionals in engaging in digital-based learning demonstrates its great potential as a tool for future education.
Dental industry turns to e-learning platform
While the findings are limited to China, the roll-out of online education platforms and events in recent months suggest that many of the world’s leading dental companies are adapting to this new learning environment. “webinars have become an important pillar of the dental community’s Continuing education, ” Dr. Frank Emde, director of professional education and clinical affairs at Kavo Dental, told the international dental forum (Dti) after the company launched its education platform, the Kavo Academy, in May, “webinars have become a growing industry and for several years there has been a strong demand for these free, continuously available training courses. ”
Online education has proven successful
During the outbreak, other dental companies with online learning forums also held educational events focusing on webinars to replace those scheduled to take place offline. In general, these activities have proved to be highly successful in terms of the number of participants and have generally had a greater impact, highlighting the growing demand from the dental community for these educational models.
Back in March, Curaden announced that it would hold a week long Webinar at its Curaden Academy, allowing dental professionals to earn CE credits at home. The STRAUMANN 2020 VIRTUAL Immediacy Symposium and the Immediacy Essentials Symposium are two major online events that mark the ongoing expansion of Straumann in e learning, a development that began before the epidemic.
As the dental industry cancels offline exhibitions and seminars this year, companies are increasingly turning to the digital realm, hosting online events, and making significant gains. Towards the end of May, Ivocar Vivadent International Expert Symposium attracted more than 16,000 registered participants from 126 countries, and last month 3Shape’s free-of-charge 24H Global Symposium, the 24-hour Webinar Marathon, with 30 online lectures and nearly 10,000 registrations, was held on June 20 at GC Europe’s first International MI Congress online, under the theme “minimal intervention in dentistry, for your life” , about 5,500 people registered for the one-day event. It’s not just dental companies that are turning to online platforms to offer CE courses. Last month, the FDI world dental alliance, the main body representing more than 1m dentists worldwide, launched its own Webinar, the FDI Oral Health Campus. The aim of the platform is to provide new, relevant and wide-ranging CE courses with specific benefits fo members of FDI.
The World Dental Forum is also participating
To be sure, the World Dental Forum (DTI) itself must also be mentioned in the current dental CE industry. All of the educational events and webinars mentioned in this article are organized in partnership with and hosted by DTI, which leverages its extensive industry network to reach out to all corners of the global dental community, to make these events a success. These corporate education models are based on the long-standing success of DTI’s CE platform, the DT Study Club. Through this platform, DTI has held 34 live webinars during the epidemic to date, providing CE education on a wide range of topics. In the past four months, the company has hosted a staggering 284 webinars, with more to come.
Where does the future lead?
As the epidemic continues to spread, getting CE credits through webinars and other e-learning opportunities is likely to remain the norm. This is a reality that the next generation of dentists is beginning to accept, as many dental college graduates have already experienced their commencement virtually through online platforms such as Youtube, Zoom and Facebook Live.
