Preparing Dental Students to Treat Patients with Special Needs: Changes in Predoctoral Education After the Revised Accreditation Standard

In its accreditation standards published in 2004, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) adopted a new standard, to be implemented starting in January 1, 2006, stating that "Graduates must be competent in assessing the treatment needs of patients with special needs." The literature shows that academic dental institutions have a history of underpreparing students to deal with the increasing population of individuals with special needs. The purpose of this study was to survey the then-fifty-four accredited U.S. dental schools to determine what if anything had changed since the deadline for implementation of the new standard. If dental schools' efforts to meet this standard were found to be incomplete or ineffective, the result may be an even greater shortage of services for this population and will point to the need for additional efforts in this area.