Each year, ADEA offers national webinars on important topics in dental education on a wide variety of topics. From June through November, University of Iowa faculty and staff have presented three of these national webinars.

In June, Dean David Johnsen presented a webinar, “Critical Thinking in Dental Education,” drawing from his work with many UI dental faculty members expressing the thinking of experts in discrete management steps that allow students to see, understand, and reproduce in assessments the thinking of experts in a variety of fields. The webinar is available (with ADEA membership) on ADEA’s website.

In October, Dr. Ahmed Mahrous, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Prosthodontics, presented another webinar, “Where Are We? Virtual and Augmented Reality in Dental Education.” In this webinar, Dr. Mahrous discussed current digital technology and techniques for replacing physical objects, like teeth, models, and so forth, with digital alternatives. Such an approach gives greater flexibility and availability in dental education. The webinar is available (with ADEA membership) on ADEA’s website.

In November, the college’s embedded social worker, Kirsten Flick, and Ann Synan, patient representative specialist and communication coordinator, presented “Taking CARE of Barriers: How Social Work Impacts Dental Education.” Flick and Synan spoke about the value of taking a social-work perspective in patient care greatly impacts patient care and improves access to care. The webinar is available (currently available even without an ADEA membership) on ADEA’s website.

These three talks highlight the impact that Iowa has nationally and internationally in dental education.