good research topics for dentistry

121+ Interesting Dental Research Topics for Undergraduates

Did you know poor oral health can be linked to heart disease? It’s true! This surprising fact underscores the importance of dental research in maintaining overall health and well-being. 

Understanding the intricate connections between oral health and systemic conditions like heart disease highlights the critical role of research in advancing our knowledge and improving patient outcomes. 

In this blog, we will delve into various dental research topics tailored specifically for undergraduates, providing insights, resources, and inspiration to explore this fascinating field further. 

Whether you’re passionate about dentistry or simply curious about the intersection of oral health and overall wellness, join us as we uncover the exciting possibilities in dental research for undergraduates.

What is Dental Research Topic?

Table of Contents

A dental research topic is a subject of study within the field of dentistry that aims to explore, investigate, and analyze various aspects related to oral health, dental care, and dental treatments. 

These topics cover a wide range of areas, including but not limited to dental diseases, preventive measures, treatment methods, oral hygiene practices, dental technology advancements, and the impact of oral health on overall well-being. 

Dental research topics provide opportunities for scholars, researchers, and students to contribute to the advancement of dental science, improve patient care, and address current challenges in oral health care.

Importance of Dental Research Topics for Undergraduates

Dental research topics are essential for undergraduates for several reasons:

Skill Development

Engaging in dental research topics helps undergraduates develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills essential for their academic and professional growth.

Contribution to Knowledge

Undertaking research allows undergraduates to contribute to the existing body of knowledge in dentistry, advancing the field and addressing emerging challenges.

Career Preparation

Research experience enhances students’ competitiveness for dental school admissions, graduate programs, and future careers in academia, clinical practice, or research institutions.

Practical Application

Research topics offer undergraduates the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world scenarios, fostering a deeper understanding of dental concepts and techniques.

Professional Networking

Engaging in research exposes undergraduates to collaboration with peers, faculty, and professionals, facilitating valuable networking opportunities within the dental community.

Popular Dental Research Topics for Undergraduates

Dental research topics for undergraduates encompass a wide range of areas within dentistry. Here are some examples across different subfields:

Dental Diseases

• The role of genetics in the development of periodontal disease.
• Strategies for early detection and prevention of dental caries.
• Investigating the link between diabetes and periodontal disease.
• Factors influencing the prevalence of oral cancer among different demographics.
• Impact of dietary habits on the occurrence of enamel erosion.
• Effectiveness of fluoride in preventing dental decay.
• The role of saliva in maintaining oral health and preventing diseases.
• Trends in the prevalence of temporomandibular joint disorders.
• Oral manifestations of systemic diseases: A comprehensive review.
• Investigating the relationship between oral health and overall systemic health.
• The effectiveness of probiotics in preventing oral infections.
• Psychological factors influencing dental anxiety and its management.

Dental Treatments

• Comparison of different types of dental implants: Materials, techniques, and success rates.
• Advancements in minimally invasive techniques for dental restoration.
• Comparative analysis of traditional braces versus clear aligners in orthodontic treatment.
• The role of lasers in various dental procedures: Benefits and limitations.
• Innovations in endodontic treatment: From rotary instruments to regenerative techniques.
• Efficacy of different whitening agents in professional and over-the-counter dental bleaching.
• The impact of COVID-19 on dental practice: Adaptations, challenges, and future implications.
• Investigating the use of stem cells in dental tissue regeneration.
• Comparative study of different materials used in dental restorations: Strength, durability, and aesthetics.
• Exploring the potential of 3D printing technology in prosthodontics and oral surgery.
• Patient satisfaction and outcomes following different types of orthognathic surgeries.
• Long-term success rates of various techniques in root canal therapy.

Oral Health Promotion and Education

• Effectiveness of school-based oral health education programs in improving children’s oral hygiene.
• Strategies for promoting oral health in underserved communities: Challenges and solutions.
• Role of social media and technology in disseminating oral health information.
• Impact of community water fluoridation on dental caries prevention.
• The role of parents and caregivers in establishing children’s oral hygiene habits.
• Cultural influences on oral health beliefs and practices: Implications for public health campaigns.
• Effectiveness of motivational interviewing in promoting behavior change for better oral health.
• Investigating the efficacy of school-based dental sealant programs.
• Oral health literacy among different populations: Assessments and interventions.
• The role of dentists in advocating for policies promoting oral health equity.
• Strategies for improving oral health outcomes among elderly populations.
• Integrating oral health education into primary care settings: Opportunities and challenges.

Dental Materials and Biomaterials

• Biocompatibility of dental materials: Assessing safety and long-term effects.
• Development of antimicrobial dental materials to prevent biofilm formation.
• Investigating the mechanical properties of novel dental composites.
• Bioactive materials in dentistry: Applications and clinical implications.
• Biodegradable materials for temporary dental restorations.
• Nanotechnology in dentistry: Potential applications and future directions.
• Development of remineralizing agents for the management of dental caries.
• Investigating the properties and applications of dental ceramics.
• Biomimetic materials in dentistry: Mimicking natural tooth structure for improved outcomes.
• Sustainable practices in dental material manufacturing and disposal.
• Advances in adhesive systems for bonding dental restorations.
• Biomechanical properties of dental implant materials: Enhancing stability and osseointegration.

Oral Microbiology and Immunology

• Microbiome of the oral cavity: Composition, dynamics, and role in health and disease.
• Host-pathogen interactions in periodontal diseases: Insights into disease progression.
• Immunological responses to dental biofilms and their implications for treatment.
• Role of probiotics in modulating oral microbiota and preventing dental diseases.
• Viral infections in dentistry: From herpesviruses to SARS-CoV-2.
• Impact of antimicrobial resistance on dental infections and treatment outcomes.
• Microbial ecology of dental plaques in different oral environments.
• Oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS: Diagnosis, management, and implications.
• Biofilm formation on dental implant surfaces: Prevention and management strategies.
• Innate and adaptive immune responses in oral mucosal diseases.
• Virulence factors of oral pathogens and their role in disease progression.
• Immunomodulatory properties of dental materials and their impact on tissue response.

Dental Public Health

• Epidemiology of dental diseases: Trends, disparities, and risk factors.
• Health promotion strategies for improving access to dental care in rural areas.
• Oral health inequalities among different socioeconomic groups: Causes and solutions.
• Cost-effectiveness of preventive dental interventions: A systematic review.
• Integrating oral health into primary care: Models of collaborative practice.
• Tele-dentistry: Opportunities and challenges for improving access to dental care.
• Oral health surveillance systems: Monitoring trends and assessing needs.
• Assessing the effectiveness of community water fluoridation programs.
• Role of dental professionals in addressing oral health disparities.
• Impact of environmental factors on oral health outcomes: Pollution, climate change, and urbanization.
• Dental workforce issues: Distribution, shortages, and workforce diversity.
• Oral health policies and advocacy: Strategies for promoting legislative change.

Pediatric Dentistry

• Early childhood caries: Risk factors, prevention, and management strategies.
• Behavior management techniques in pediatric dentistry: Evidence-based approaches.
• Oral health outcomes of children with special healthcare needs: Challenges and interventions.
• Dental trauma in children: Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
• Assessment of dental fear and anxiety in pediatric patients: Tools and interventions.
• Maternal and child oral health: Prenatal factors influencing dental health outcomes.
• Dental developmental anomalies: Diagnosis, management, and long-term implications.
• Effectiveness of fluoride varnish application in preventing dental caries in children.
• Impact of nutrition and dietary habits on pediatric oral health.
• Pediatric sedation techniques in dentistry: Safety, efficacy, and guidelines.
• Orthodontic considerations in pediatric dentistry: Early intervention and treatment planning.
• Pediatric dental emergencies: Management and prevention strategies.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

• Outcomes of orthognathic surgery in patients with skeletal discrepancies.
• Management of impacted third molars: Indications, techniques, and complications.
• Reconstruction of maxillofacial defects following trauma or tumor resection: Surgical options and outcomes.
• Temporomandibular joint disorders: Diagnosis, management, and surgical interventions.
• Bone grafting techniques in implant dentistry: Approaches and success rates.
• Surgical management of obstructive sleep apnea: Role of maxillomandibular advancement.
• Surgical treatment options for cleft lip and palate: Multidisciplinary approaches and long-term outcomes.
• Surgical management of oral and maxillofacial infections: Antibiotic therapy, drainage, and debridement.
• Soft tissue augmentation techniques in aesthetic and functional maxillofacial surgery.
• Advancements in minimally invasive techniques for orthognathic surgery.
• Surgical management of facial trauma: Emergency interventions and long-term rehabilitation.
• Digital planning and navigation in oral and maxillofacial surgery: Enhancing precision and outcomes.

Dental Education and Training

• Effectiveness of simulation-based training in dental education: Skill acquisition and retention.
• Integration of digital technology into dental curricula: Challenges and opportunities.
• Peer-assisted learning in dental education: Impact on student performance and satisfaction.
• Interprofessional education in dentistry: Collaborative approaches to patient care.
• Continuing education requirements for dental professionals: Trends and implications.
• Assessment methods in dental education: Moving beyond traditional exams.
• The role of mentorship in shaping the career trajectories of dental students.
• Global perspectives in dental education: Cross-cultural experiences and challenges.
• Incorporating evidence-based practice into dental curricula: Strategies and outcomes.
• Tele-education in dentistry: Remote learning platforms and their effectiveness.
• Student perceptions of clinical experiences in dental education: Barriers and facilitators.
• Innovations in competency-based dental education: Assessing clinical proficiency and readiness for practice.

Dental Technology and Innovation

• Artificial intelligence in dentistry: Applications in diagnosis, treatment planning, and outcomes prediction.
• Virtual reality and augmented reality in dental education and patient care.
• Robotics in dentistry: Automation of procedures and precision in surgical interventions.
• Wearable technology for monitoring oral health behaviors and conditions.
• 3D printing in dentistry: Customization of dental implants, prostheses, and surgical guides.
• Digital smile design: Utilizing technology for aesthetic treatment planning and communication.
• Smart materials in dentistry: Self-healing, self-cleaning, and bioactive properties.
• Teledentistry platforms for remote consultations, monitoring, and patient education.
• Biomimetic approaches in dental materials design: Mimicking natural tooth structure and function.
• Nanomaterials in oral healthcare products: Enhanced delivery systems and therapeutic applications.
• Bioprinting of dental tissues and organs: Advancements in regenerative dentistry.
• Energy-based devices in dentistry: Laser therapy, photobiomodulation, and electrosurgery applications.
• Development of a Smart Toothbrush with Artificial Intelligence Integration.

These topics offer a comprehensive overview of the diverse areas within the field of dental research and provide undergraduates with a plethora of options for exploring their interests and making meaningful contributions to the discipline.

Current Trends in Dental Research

Several trends were prevalent in dental research. While there may have been further developments since then, here are some prominent trends at that time:

Biomimetic Dentistry

Mimicking natural tooth structure and function using advanced materials and techniques.

Tele-dentistry

Utilizing technology for remote consultations, monitoring, and patient education, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regenerative Dentistry

Developing therapies to regenerate dental tissues and promote natural healing processes.

Personalized Dentistry

Tailoring treatment plans based on individual patient characteristics, genetics, and preferences.

Minimally Invasive Dentistry

Emphasizing conservative approaches to preserve tooth structure and improve patient comfort.

Digital Dentistry

Integration of digital technology for diagnostics, treatment planning, and fabrication of dental restorations.

Nanotechnology

Utilizing nanomaterials for improved dental materials, drug delivery systems, and diagnostic tools.

Challenges in Dental Research Topics

Dental research, like any scientific field, faces its share of challenges. These challenges can span various aspects of the research process, from funding and resources to methodological complexities and ethical considerations. Here are some common challenges in dental research:

Funding Constraints

Limited financial resources hinder the initiation and continuation of dental research projects.

Access to Resources

Inadequate access to specialized equipment, materials, and facilities poses a barrier to conducting comprehensive research.

Recruitment of Participants

Difficulty in recruiting diverse and representative study populations affects the generalizability of research findings.

Ethical Considerations

Navigating ethical complexities, such as informed consent and privacy concerns, adds challenges to dental research.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Facilitating collaboration between dental professionals, researchers, and other disciplines is essential but often challenging.

Translation of Research into Practice

Bridging the gap between research findings and clinical implementation remains a significant challenge in dental research.

The exploration of dental research topics holds immense promise for advancing oral health care and addressing multifaceted challenges within the field. 

From unraveling the mysteries of oral diseases to pioneering innovative treatments and technologies, dental research serves as the cornerstone of progress and improvement in patient outcomes. 

Despite facing various challenges such as funding constraints and ethical considerations, the pursuit of dental research remains crucial for enhancing preventive measures, refining treatment modalities, and promoting overall well-being.

By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, embracing emerging trends, and prioritizing the translation of research findings into practice, the dental community can continue to drive impactful discoveries and advancements for the benefit of individuals worldwide.

1. How can I stay updated on the latest dental research?

Staying updated on the latest dental research can be as simple as subscribing to reputable dental journals, attending conferences, and following dental research institutions and experts on social media platforms.

2. What are some examples of emerging dental research topics?

Emerging dental research topics include genetics and oral health, biomaterials and tissue engineering, and microbiome studies, among others.

3. Why is dental research important for patients?

Dental research drives innovation in oral healthcare, leading to improved treatment outcomes, personalized care, and enhanced preventive strategies for patients.

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Research Projects

Research within the School of Dental Medicine encompasses a wide variety of fields within oral health care, helping to translate basic science discoveries into clinical therapies. Use the links below to learn more about current and past projects of faculty, staff, and students. 

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Biological Sciences

Biological Sciences research focuses on how the body, particularly the mouth, fights diseases through innate immune responses. 

**We are currently updating these pages to refresh information. While we work, please visit the Biological Sciences Research and Sponsored Projects page to review our active projects.

Ge Jin, PhD

• Beta-defensins in Immunological Responses and Immunotherapy in Oncogenesis
• Innate Immunity and Oral Carcinogenesis

Pushpa Pandiyan, PhD

• Mechanism of Immunomodulation during Oropharyngeal Candidiasis
• Modulation of Tumor Necrosis-α during Oropharyngeal Candidiasis

Aaron Weinberg, DMD, PhD

• Oral Cancer and the Discovery of a Novel Biomarker
• Oral Cancer and the Discovery of a Novel Biomarker - Taiwan
• Fusobacterial-Associated Beta Defensin Inducer (FADI)
• Center for Excellence in Immunology

Fengchun Ye, PhD

• Role of Angiopoietin-2 in KSHV Induction of Angiogenesis, Inflammation, and Cutaneous KS Lesions
• Epigenetic Regulation of Viral Infection and Replication by Periodontal Bacteria

Chad Zender, MD, FACS

• Comprehensive Head and Neck Database 

Community Dentistry

Community Dentistry research focuses on the protection and improvement of oral health in patients and community at-large. 

**We are currently updating these pages to refresh information. While we work, please visit the Community Dentistry Research and Sponsored Projects page to review our active projects.

Catherine Demko

• MEDTAPP Healthcare Access Initiative
• Sisters of Charity of Canton Evaluation Project

James Lalumandier, DDS, MPH

• Geriatric Dentistry Mobile Unit Program
• Healthy Smiles Sealant Program

Sena Narendran, PhD

• Post-doctoral Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry and Dental Hygiene
• Pre-doctoral Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry and Dental Hygiene

Suchitra Nelson, PhD

• Family Intervention with Caregivers of Children with Urgent Dental Needs
• Longitudinal Studies of Dental Caries in Very Low Birthweight Children

Mary Beth Slusar, PhD

• Caregiver Illness Perception and Child's Early Childhood Caries Status

Kristin Victoroff

• Collaborative Home for Oral Health, Medical Review, and Health Promotion (CHOMP)

Kristin Williams

Comprehensive Care

• Correlation of Primary Implant Stability with Cone Beam Computed Tomography Analysis in a Bovine Mandibular Bone Model
• Image Guided New Biomaterials for Dental Restorations
• Optimization of Insertion Torque for Primary Dental Implant Stability

Endodontics

Anita Aminoshariae, DDS, MS

• Association of Endodontic Conditions with Systemic Medical Disease
• Effect of Time Factor in Crown Placement on Survival of Primary Endodontically Treated: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Thomas Montagnese, DDS

• Efficacy of Buprenorphine on Post-operative Endodontic Analgesia 

Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine + Diagnostic Sciences

Oral Medicine research focuses on orofacial pain, oral premalignant disorders, interprofessional education outcomes, and markers for response to treatment of mucosal disorders.

Andres Pinto, DMD, MPH

• Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ) Case Registry
• Reliability of a Modified Brief Pain Inventory-Facial

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Dale Baur, DDS

• Patient-Centered Quality of Live (QOL) Measures after Temporomandibular Total Joint Replacement Surgery 
• Removal of Unerupted Third Molars at the Time of Mandibular Sagittal Split Osteotomy: Case Series 
• Treatment Outcomes of Keratocystic Odontogenic Tumor

Orthodontics

**We are currently updating these pages to refresh information. While we work, please visit the Orthodontics Research and Sponsored Projects page to review our active projects.

Mark Hans, DDS, MSD

• Craniofacial Initiatives in the School of Dental Medicine

J. Martin Palomo, DDS, MSD

Manish Valiathan, DDS, MSD

• Craniofacial Growth Prediction in Different Facial Types

Pediatric Dentistry

Pediatric Dentistry research focuses on improving the care and treatment of pediatric oral health, including pediatric oral health disparities, craniofacial anomalies, and oral health behavior.

*We are currently updating these pages to refresh information. While we work, please visit the Pediatric Dentistry Research and Sponsored Projects page to review our active projects.Orthodontics

Gerald Ferretti, DDS, MS, MPH

Research Interests:

• Reducing children's oral health disparities
• Craniofacial anomalies
• Pediatric sedation

Masahiro Heima, DDS, PhD

• Dental care-related fear and anxiety
• Oral health care behavior

Lance Vernon, DMD, MPH

• Oral hygiene behavior
• Oral health care in HIV population
• Development of a Provider-Observed Tool to Assess Oral Hygiene Skills in HIV+ Adults
• Holistic, Prevention-Focused Assessment and Coaching of Targeted/Tailored Oral Hygiene Behaviors
• Immune and Inflammatory Consequences of Intensive Periodontal Disease Treatment in HIV+ Adults
• Oral Link to Vascular Disease in an HIV-1 Cohort

Periodontics

Nabil Bissada

• Gingival Dimension Around Natural Teeth and Dental Implants in Health and Disease
• Role of Nonsurgical Periodontal Treatment on the Level of Rheumatoid Factor in Patients Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Andre Paes, DDS, PhD, MS

• Examination of Proton Pump Inhibitor Use and Colonization with Trichomonas tenax and Entamoeba gingivalis

Leena Palomo, DMD, MSD

• Analysis of Postmenopausal Women Using Bisphosphonate Therapy
• Periodontitis in Postmenopausal Women

What are some good dental research topics?

Dr. Michael Chen

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The Oral Health Topics section on ADA.org is intended to provide dentists with clinically relevant, evidence-based science behind the issues that may affect their patients and their practice. Refer to the Oral Health Topics for current scientific reviews of subjects that relate to oral health, from amalgam separators and antibiotic prophylaxis to xerostomia and X-rays.

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• Open access
• Published: 23 July 2022

The picture of undergraduate dental basic research education: a scoping review

• Haiwen Liu 1   na1 ,
• Zhuohong Gong 1   na1 ,
• Chen Ye 1 ,
• Xuejing Gan 1 ,
• Shijie Chen 1 ,
• Yun Hong 1 ,
• Junqing Xu 1 ,
• Zhengmei Lin 1 &
• Zetao Chen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8344-2602 1  

BMC Medical Education volume  22 , Article number:  569 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Undergraduate dental basic research education (UDBRE) is broadly regarded as an important approach for cultivating scientific research talent. This scoping review aims to summarize the current status of UDBRE in terms of educational goals, teaching program and content, assessment system, training outcomes, barriers, and reflections.

The authors performed a systematic literature search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) to identify peer-reviewed articles written in English from their inception to January 29, 2021. Articles were reviewed and screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Related data from the included publications were then collected and summarized.

The authors searched 646 publications and selected 16 articles to include in the study. The education goals included cultivating five major dental basic research capabilities ( n =10, 62.5%) and developing interest in basic research ( n =2, 12.5%). As for the teaching program, the mentor-guided student research project was the most popular ( n =11, 68.8%), followed by didactic courses ( n =5, 31.3%), experimental skills training ( n =1, 6.3%), and the combination of the above forms ( n =3, 18.8%). However, the assessment system and training outcome diverged. Existing evidence showed that UDBRE reached satisfying education outcomes. Barriers included excessive curriculum burden ( n =2, 12.5%), tutor shortage ( n =3, 18.8%), lack of financial support ( n =5, 31.3%), and inadequate research skills and knowledge ( n =5, 31.3%).

Conclusions

Although efforts were made, the variation between studies revealed the immature status of UDBRE. A practical UDBRE education system paradigm was put forward. Meanwhile, more research is required to optimize a robust UDBRE system with clear education goals, well-designed teaching forms, and convincing assessment systems.

Peer Review reports

According to the director of the US Office of Scientific Development and Research, “basic research” means advancing scientific knowledge and understanding of a topic or certain natural phenomenon, primarily in natural science [ 1 ]. Basic research is theoretical and focuses on general principles and testing theories and the importance of basic research in dentistry development is beyond question. Breakthroughs in dental basic research have profoundly advanced the diagnosis and treatment of dentistry by generating new ideas, principles, and theories and advancing fundamental knowledge of dentistry [ 1 , 2 ]. For example, the formulation of the three primary factors theory (bacteria-diet-host) established the theoretical basis of prevention strategies such as plaque control and pit and fissure sealing [ 3 ]. The establishment of mechanobiology-based bone remodelling theories underpins the biologic basis of contemporary orthodontic therapy [ 4 ]. In short, dental basic research contributes substantially to the advancement of dentistry.

However, the current dental scientist talent pool is facing a shortage, and the competitiveness of dental talent is decreasing [ 5 , 6 ]. The 2020 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) survey of dental school seniors showed that 85% of dental graduates chose private practice, rather than pursuing research careers [ 7 ]. Moreover, from 1999 to 2012, trends in the numbers of grant applications and awards to dentist-scientists point to an overall decline. The average age of first-time funded dentists was 52.7 years for females and 54.6 years for males [ 8 ]. Most dental practitioners are equipped with clinical skills, yet have relatively poor research abilities.

This trend leads to the reflection on the effectiveness of current dental education in cultivating dental research talent. As early as 1926, the Gies Report recommended that dental education should encourage and provide dental students with research opportunities within the optional dental curriculum [ 9 ]. “Undergraduate Dental Basic Research Education (UDBRE)”, concerning the topic of “basic research”, serves as an integral part and complement of undergraduate dental education [ 10 , 11 ]. It includes not only laboratory-related training (RCR, western blot, etc.) but also the primary introduction of commonalities of research, including knowing what is a problem, how to raise a scientific problem, etc. [ 12 ]. UDBRE enhances the access, acceptance, and applicability of basic science for dental undergraduates [ 13 ] in various forms, including but not limited to didactic lectures [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ], laboratory-based experimental courses [ 16 ], student research programs [ 13 , 15 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ], etc.

UDBRE is broadly regarded as an important approach in training innovative dental researchers [ 23 ]. For individuals, UDBRE equips undergraduates with overall “basic research” capacities [ 10 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 22 , 23 ], serving as fundamental tools to solve basic science problems and further achieve academic breakthroughs. In addition, UDBRE stimulates active learning and critical thinking [ 10 ] and sparks scientific interest [ 15 , 23 ], leading dental students to reflect and discover basic science problem in daily clinical practice, and therefore, contribute to dentistry advancement. Over time, trained students, equipped with both clinical skills and adept “basic research” capacities, boost the scientist-dentist talent reserves and show a higher willingness to stay in school to continue an academic career as well as to teaching, which leads to the expansion of college staff and therefore relieves the current status of brain drain [ 13 ]. Supported by the government in policy and finance [ 24 ], UDBRE has become a new hot spot in dental education.

Dental clinical education has formed a mature training system, starting with didactic courses, then probation, internship, general training, and finally professional training to achieve educational goals at different stages [ 25 , 26 ]. In contrast, UDBRE is still at a primary and immature stage. Most dental schools have not started student research programs or provide inadequate research programs due to various limitations [ 15 ]. The existing UDBRE education goals are vague, which may misdirect the proper setting of specific curricula. Thus, the current curriculum formats are diverse, and an optimized UDBREE system according to students’ step-by-step learning process has not yet been formed [ 10 , 11 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 27 ]. Furthermore, the assessment methods vary. It is not yet clear which indicators can truly reflect the genuine effects of UDBRE, and the lack of an established optimized assessment system has also caused difficulties in curriculum design [ 13 , 18 , 19 , 23 ]. It is unclear how the UDBRE is performed in different regions, including the content, teaching format and assessment methods. The training outcomes and the challenges in the implementation are also confusing. In addition, the immature development stage of UDBRE and the small number of related studies call for larger scale collection of information.

For these reasons, a scoping review was performed to systematically collecting information in the area, and identifying any existing gaps in knowledge to conclude the current picture of the UDBRE programs in terms of goals, content and teaching format, assessment, outcomes, barriers, and challenges. It is essential to establish an advanced education model of UDBRE and analyse it from a scientific perspective.

Materials and methods

This scoping review was performed in accordance with the PRISMA Guidelines [ 28 ]. Three trained researchers conducted a systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases. “Dental education”, “Undergraduate”, “Basic research”, and their synonyms were used as keywords (Table  1 ).

Eligibility criteria

The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) all studies related to “Dental education”, “Undergraduate” and “Basic research” no matter curriculum forms, (2) English-language articles, and (3) articles published from their inception to January 29, 2021.

The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) studies not focusing on one of “dental education”, “undergraduate” or “basic research”, (2) studies related to “dental hygiene” or “dental technology” were also excluded because these subjects were different from “dentistry” in curriculum, and (3) non-English written articles.

Selection of sources of evidence

Three reviewers searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases, removed duplicate documents, and screened the articles independently according to the titles and abstracts. Then, each of the three reviewers screened the full texts of two-thirds of the retained articles, which means that each article was reviewed twice. Throughout the whole process, reviewers held meetings to address discrepancies and reach an agreement on the final included articles. The process of screening literature is summarized in a flow diagram (Fig.  1 ).

PRISMA flow diagram. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flow diagram shows the detailed process of information retrieval and literature screening

Data charting process and synthesis of results

The authors extracted information from the included articles, includes basic information, education goals, teaching programs, assessment methods and indicators, educational outcomes, barriers, and main conclusions.

Results and discussion

In total, 646 articles were obtained initially and 16 articles were included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Fig. 1 ). The included articles have been gradually published since 2008. The duration of the education project in each article varied, and lasted for a maximum of 25 years. The basic information of the included articles is listed in Table  2 .

Specific targets of UDBRE have been put forward around the ultimate goal: “cultivating dental research talent with basic research capabilities and strong scientific interest” [ 10 , 11 , 16 , 17 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 27 ] (Table 2 ). According to the process of scientific research, the proposed target competencies are subdivided into five aspects: (1) Basic research question discovery ability. Students should put forward innovative scientific questions from the difficulties of dental clinical practice [ 19 , 21 , 23 ]. Creativity is also an important dimension [ 19 ]. (2) Literature retrieval ability. Undergraduates shall be capable of conducting literature retrieval, reviewing the progress of the research question, critical thinking on previous research, and proposing a hypothesis [ 17 , 19 , 21 ]. (3) Research design capability. This goal expects students to retrieve literature, think critically, apply theoretical knowledge [ 11 ], formulate clear aims [ 19 ], design protocols [ 23 ], integrate creative ideas, consider ethical principles [ 19 ], and conduct preliminary experiments [ 23 ]. Many student research programs also aim to cultivate the ability to obtain financial support (research funds, scholarships, etc.) by writing applications or oral presentations on their research projects [ 11 , 23 ]. (4) Experimental techniques. The student should master basic laboratory techniques, obtain valid data and analyse experimental data [ 16 , 23 ]. (5) Scientific report writing ability. It comprises data analysis [ 23 ], graph plotting, critical thinking, and scientific report writing (thesis, article, etc.) [ 11 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 27 ]. Academic communication is a further goal. After the complete training of UDBRE, students are expected to deepen their understanding of scientific knowledge and develop professional theory and practice [ 19 ], as well as to establish their competencies in problem-solving and teamwork [ 10 ]. In addition to cultivating capabilities, promoting scientific interest is also an important goal of UDBRE, which is ignored by many guidelines [ 23 , 27 ].

Specific goals of UDBRE programs are proposed but divergence exists within studies. The cultivation of the above five major abilities and the promotion of scientific interest serve as ideal objectives of UDBRE. Clarifying the education target helps dental schools design specific education methods to fulfil the goals.

Content and teaching format

The reported content and teaching format of UDBRE are diverse but have something in common. The authors identified four major forms (Table 2 ): (1) theoretical courses or lectures [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]; (2) experimental skills training [ 16 , 23 ]; (3) mentor-guided student research projects [ 10 , 11 , 13 , 15 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 27 ]; and (4) combination of above forms [ 15 , 16 , 18 ].

Dental basic research theoretical courses

A Brazilian dentistry school reported adding theoretical lessons before the experimental course. Compared with those who attended a single laboratory class, participants had more discussion and showed a deeper understanding of important science topics in the final reports [ 16 ]. Similar lessons have been reported [ 14 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]. The dental basic research theoretical courses before the experimental lessons are helpful to contextualize basic research in dental courses, learn scientific knowledge and establish scientific thinking.

The teaching content of each study had different focuses, covering scientific research methods [ 14 , 18 ], literature retrieval [ 17 ], laboratory safety [ 16 ], training of basic research thinking [ 14 ], data analysis, and paper writing [ 17 ]. Regrettably, no document recorded the textbooks or reference materials used. The specific teaching methods also had their own merits. Some were traditional didactic curricula [ 18 ], and others adopted novel methods, such as project-based learning [ 16 ] and problem-based learning [ 10 ].

Although it is important in systematic research knowledge enlightenment, theoretical courses in UDBRE have been reported in relatively few studies [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ] (Table 2 , n  = 5). The teaching content and method of didactic courses were unclear and more efforts are needed to improve feasibility. The basic research process, academic norms, and primary skills of dental basic research should also be included in the teaching content.

Experimental skills training in UDBRE

Experimental skills training (Table 2 , n  = 6) is usually integrated into UDBRE, together with other programs [ 11 , 13 , 16 , 18 , 20 , 23 ], rather than an isolated educational program. The most common situation is that undergraduates learn the experiment involved in their projects under mentorship [ 23 ]. Another situation is to combine experimental and theoretical courses [ 16 ]. Although the current method is feasible, students may lack systematic training, and acquire experimental skills occasionally and irregularly. Such scattered and nonstandard learning should be transformed into a systematic and well-designed course.

Mentor-guided student research project

The mentor-guided student research project is the most common among the included articles [ 10 , 11 , 13 , 15 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 27 ] (Table 2 , n  = 11), in which dental students experience the research process under mentorship. It usually begins with dental scientific questions put forward by undergraduates, and then they design their own scientific research projects after preparation (literature research, protocol design, etc.). Subsequently, they apply for research funds, scholarships, or student research projects. If accepted, students need to complete experiments in the laboratory, analyse data, express critical reflections, write an article or a report and finally complete the student research project under the guidance of the tutors [ 11 , 13 , 15 , 18 , 19 , 22 , 23 ].

Most research topics focus on dentistry. For topics in the field of medicine, human sciences, or other professionals, students needed to discuss the contribution of their research findings to dental practice [ 19 , 23 ], which may promote interdisciplinary research. In terms of specific disciplines, in clinical departments, orthodontics, oral surgery, periodontology, and restorative dentistry have been the most popular fields. While the most attractive basic science departments have been microbiology, biochemistry, and pathology [ 11 ].

Although interdisciplinary mentorship is practicable, the research topic should be within the field of dentistry due to its unique characteristics. However, many schools failed to popularize student research projects due to insufficient dental supervisors. In this situation, interdisciplinary research is acceptable because scientific research has commonalities.

As the results disclose, UDBRE has not yet been popularized worldwide but dental schools have become aware of the significance of UDBRE. Some schools have begun to make some efforts and have achieved preliminary results. Various forms of UDBRE have been established, such as theoretical courses, experimental skills training, and mentor-guided student research projects.

Compared with the mature clinical training model, dental basic research education has not been organized. There have not been many integrated projects of the above forms [ 15 , 16 , 18 ]. Most of them are short-term projects of up to two years [ 18 , 23 ]. Long-term training projects have not yet appeared. Given all this, the next goal of UDBRE is to form a scientific and gradual education system.

There are differences between education forms. Which are better methods also remains unknown. How to organically integrate different education forms to maximize the effectiveness of education requires further study. Moreover, the different emphasis on teaching methods may be attributed to differences in cultures, policies, and school conditions [ 19 ].

Assessment methods

The assessment methods are related to the education forms (Table 2 ). For theoretical courses, educators employed the following: (1) test on concepts [ 16 , 17 ] – a Brazilian dental school set an exam about basic concepts of dental biomaterial at the end of classes [ 16 ]; (2) article presentation [ 16 ] – students need to search articles on the assigned topic and present the articles as well as their perception of search methodologies, result translation, and critical reading skills in a seminar [ 16 ]; and (3) questionnaire [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The assessment methods of experimental skills training comprised the following: (1) exam [ 16 ]; (2) experimental report [ 16 ]; and (3) questionnaire [ 16 ]. Most research projects arranged the assessment at the end of the project, including: (1) submission of a thesis [ 13 , 19 , 22 ], which is the most popular and basic form of assessment. Details of the project report were well specified in several Swedish dental schools, such as page numbers, structure, layout, references, etc. [ 19 ]; (2) oral presentations or meetings [ 11 , 13 , 18 ] – the verbal presentation at the University of Manitoba was styled after an MSc thesis defence, where students summarized their findings and several professors provided oral feedback [ 13 ]. The Student Research Club (SRC) of Istanbul University held annual meetings where students gave 10- to 15-min speeches on their research. Additionally, a booklet containing all the project abstracts was distributed to participants, which promoted academic exchanges [ 11 ]; (3) competitions [ 18 , 27 ] – in South Africa [ 18 ], undergraduates were awarded in Colgate Undergraduate Competition based on the project quality and their insights shown in the questioning part; (4) questionnaire [ 11 , 15 , 18 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]; and (5) combination of the above methods [ 13 , 18 , 22 , 23 ].

Nevertheless, considering the assessment time point, the majority of studies chose summative assessments [ 11 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 27 , 29 ], while the others chose formative assessments [ 16 , 18 ]. Among all the included studies, only one study mentioned midterm assessment [ 23 ]. Most projects mainly relied on mentors’ supervision during implementation, which may account for the abortion of some student research projects. Moreover, ambiguous assessment indicators of midterm supervision may not truly reflect the training outcome or the achievement of educational goals.

Assessment indicators

Targeting the educational goals, specific indicators were adopted according to assessment methods and the feasibility of indicator collection (Table 2 ): (1) The problem discovery ability can be assessed by self-assessment [ 11 , 14 , 22 , 23 ] or evaluated along with other research abilities. For example, the number of funded projects can reflect both the ability of problem discovery and project design [ 11 , 23 ]. (2) The literature retrieval ability can be evaluated through self-assessment [ 11 , 17 , 21 ]. (3) The research design capability can be depicted by the number of applied research funds [ 11 , 23 ] and self-assessment [ 11 ]. (4) The ability of experimental operation can be assessed through experiment course scores [ 16 , 23 ], experimental reports [ 16 ], and self-assessment [ 11 , 14 , 23 ]. (5) The scientific report writing ability can be evaluated by indicators, such as the number of published papers [ 23 ], research competition awards [ 27 ], and self-assessment [ 11 , 14 ]. (6) Students’ interest in scientific research can be estimated through (a) instant feedback, such as the number of participants [ 13 ] and attendance rate [ 23 ]. (b) long-term influence, including future career choices and talent retention [ 11 , 13 , 18 , 23 , 29 ].

The assessment system varies across studies. Regretfully, imperfection of the current assessment is observed as they are incomprehensive and immethodical. The lack of assessment of overall education goals is manifested as the ignorance of one or several aspects of education goals. In addition, the neglect of mid-term assessment is common in the included studies. This leads to difficulties in evaluating the overall performance and comparing the effectiveness between studies and programs. Hence, a systemic and comprehensive assessment system based on education goals should be established to monitor the outcome of UDBRE for timely adjustment and long-term tracking.

Existing reports uncover the education achievements of UDBRE, including target research ability development and scientific interest promotion (Table  3 ).

Development of target research abilities

(1) The problem discovery ability: Nigerian educators discovered that 45.2% of undergraduates chose the research topic by themselves [ 22 ]. (2) The literature retrieval ability: SRC participants strongly agreed that the program developed their experience of searching archives [ 11 ]. Likewise, Nieminen reported that almost 80% of undergraduates perceived to have good or passable literature retrieval skills after compulsory information retrieval lessons [ 17 ]. (3) The research design capability: Yu’s study revealed that the number of funded research projects has increased in the past 11 years, from 1 ~ 2 projects per year (2007–2011) to 7 projects per year (2017) [ 23 ]. Similarly, Guven’s study showed growing trend of funds and the participants agreed that they developed better research planning and independent inquiry skills during the research [ 11 ]. (4) The ability of experimental operation: A Brazilian study showed that compared with students who only participated in theoretical courses, the average course scores of PBL participants were slightly higher (7.8 ± 1.2 and 7.2 ± 1.6, respectively). Significantly more content of methodology and scientific literature support was detected in the experimental report of PBL participants [ 16 ]. In Yu’s and Guven’s study, the students believed that UDBRE helped to obtain experimental techniques [ 11 , 23 ]. (5) The scientific report writing ability: A study showed that UDBRE participants published significantly more articles (1.62 ± 1.41) than nonparticipants (1.31 ± 0.75) during the postgraduate period [ 23 ]. UDBRE participants from the University of Manitoba won first place in a scientific competition (Canadian Association for Dental Research) for their outstanding scientific work [ 27 ]. Analogously, SRC participants agreed that the program strengthened their analytical skills as well as their ability to present research results and therefore formed a better basis for postgraduate studies [ 11 ]. However, only 46.7% of surveyed Pakistani medical and dental undergraduates claimed to know how to write articles. Few students (17.7%) acquired knowledge of the procedure of publication of articles, indicating that these studies scarcely emphasized the cultivation of thesis writing [ 14 ].

Students’ interest in scientific research

UDBRE has both short-term and long-lasting effects on students’ interest in scientific research (Table 3 ). (1) Instant feedback: UDBRE participants increased from one (1980) to 11 (2005) [ 13 ] in Scott’s study. Yu’s study found that the attendance rate of UDBRE increased from 36.84 to 90% and that students showed high satisfaction (VAS score = 72.36 ± 20.37) [ 23 ]. A South African study found that 92% of students realized the importance of basic research and 34% were willing to participate in research activities again [ 18 ]. The satisfaction rate of different Swedish dental schools varied from 26 to 50% [ 19 ]. Three studies reported that students with research experience possessed a mediocre attitude towards research and 75% did not gain confidence in research [ 21 , 22 , 29 ]. (2) Long-term influence: SRC members showed great willingness to pursue a Ph.D. degree. Furthermore,74 SRC members continued studying at Istanbul University from 2005 to 2009 and 31% of present teaching assistants were former SRC members [ 11 ]. Similarly, at the University of Manitoba, 31.5% of UDBRE graduates continued pursuing higher academic degrees and 17% of them obtained postgraduate programs [ 13 ]. However, Grossman found that in three out of four surveyed schools, over half of the students were unwilling to do research in the future [ 18 ].

Existing evidence (Table 3 ) shows that the UDBRE has reached certain education outcomes. UDBRE participants yielded satisfying advancements in targeted scientific research abilities. Undergraduates expressed a high degree of satisfaction with UDBRE and interest in scientific research and demonstrated more willingness to continue their postgraduate studies and academic careers. Few students conveyed negative attitudes [ 15 , 18 ], who may encounter difficulties (conflict with clinical learning, failure in the experiment, lack of guidance, etc.). This arouses educators’ concern about barriers to UDBRE and reminds educators to offer guidance and assistance to improve the UDBRE program timely.

For current UDBRE deficiency, apart from subjective design reasons, objective obstacles cannot be neglected (Table 2 ), including excessive curriculum burden [ 10 , 14 , 29 ], shortage of academic faculty, and mentorship [ 6 , 15 , 18 , 23 , 29 ], insufficient financial support [ 10 , 14 , 18 , 21 , 23 ], and deficiency in research methodology and background knowledge [ 15 , 17 , 21 , 23 , 29 ]. Reflections and possible solutions are provided in some publications [ 10 , 14 , 15 , 18 , 23 ].

Excessive curriculum burden?

UDBRE may aggravate the heavy burden of dental clinical courses. In Pakistan, 91.9% of medical and dental undergraduates complained about the heavy curriculum load [ 14 ]. Twenty-two percent of students in South Africa [ 18 ] and 12% in China [ 23 ] admitted the conflict of study time and research time. Some studies observed a lack of interest and initiative towards scientific research due to the heavy load of time-and-energy-consuming dental clinical curricula [ 10 , 29 ]. A survey demonstrated that only 34% of interviewees were sure to attend research even if it was voluntary [ 18 ].

In fact, follow-up studies on grade point average (GPA) [ 11 , 13 , 23 ] and scholarship [ 13 , 23 ] showed that UDBRE had no negative impact, but rather a positive effect on the dental clinical study (Table 3 ). In Canada, UDBRE participants showed similar baseline GPAs as nonparticipants, while they gained significantly higher total GPAs upon graduation (3.42 ± 0.41 and 3.14 ± 0.44, respectively) [ 13 ]. Similar GPA comparison outcomes were observed by Guven (3.05 ± 0.44 and 2.55 ± 0.42, respectively, P  < .001) [ 11 ] and Yu (3.41 ± 0.02 and 3.21 ± 0.04, respectively, P  < .001) [ 23 ]. Moreover, 20% of outstanding graduates at Manitoba University have participated in UDBRE [ 13 ]. Likewise, Yu observed that UDBRE participants won significantly more Honor Rolls awards per student (0.53 ± 0.07) than nonparticipants (0.30 ± 0.06) [ 23 ].

These results indicate that students are capable of coping with such pressure, rather than it adversely affecting their study (Table 3 ). Therefore, educators should offer psychological guidance to release pressure, and optimize curriculum design to control time occupation. This provides an opportunity for universities to integrate the UDBRE into the undergraduate curriculum, sort out and optimize all existing undergraduate courses, integrate repeated lessons, and condense into a more reasonable undergraduate curriculum system. Flexibly setting primary and intermediate educational goals, adopting adjustable teaching methods by integrating core curriculum and extra curriculum, and the early exposure to UDBRE serve as alternatives to avoid time conflict.

Tutors shortage and insufficient guidance?

The lack of academic faculty is mostly mentioned in the UDBRE literature [ 6 , 18 , 29 ]. From 2004 to 2005, there were 250 unfilled faculty positions in dental schools in the USA [ 30 ]. The same applies to South Africa [ 18 ] and the United Kingdom [ 6 ].

Moreover, quite a few studies reflect the insufficient guidance of faculty [ 15 , 18 , 23 ]. Grossman [ 18 ] found that nearly one fifth of students felt inadequate supervisory assistance. These educational skills were lacking at the beginning of most junior assistant professors’ careers [ 23 ]. This could be a serious problem. Supervisors lacking mentorship had a negative impact on students’ research experience [ 31 ].

Several measures solve the shortage, including: (1) to increase the salary of research faculty; (2) to expand the faculty troop by recruiting young doctors, postdoctoral fellows, and even academic tutors from other disciplines; (3) to integrate student projects into teachers’ research fields, which promotes more detailed and professional guidance from tutors and releases tutors’ understaffed situations with undergraduates’ assistance; and (4) to provide mentor training courses to junior tutors.

Lack of financial support?

Both students and faculty acknowledged that funds and financial support were essential for student research projects [ 23 ]. However, 86.9% and 92.6% of medical and dental students, respectively, faced fund shortages in Pakistan [ 14 ]. The government, universities, and dental schools are indispensable in providing financial support and an academic environment to enable the sustainable operation of the UDBRE [ 23 ].

Inadequate basic research skills and background knowledge?

A shortage of basic research skills and background knowledge led to difficulty in the initiation and a decrease in initiative [ 15 , 29 ]. Undergraduates, especially freshmen, spend more time absorbing background knowledge and methodology of scientific research [ 15 ]. Even fourth-year dental students exhibited insufficient research knowledge and unsatisfactory information retrieval ability [ 17 ].

Moreover, most students are only familiar with the background knowledge of a certain topic notwithstanding multidisciplinary research is a new trend in basic research. Yu recorded an increasing proportion of multidisciplinary projects from 0 (2007) to a maximum of 55.56% (2015). In addition, both dental faculty and students were aware that cross-departmental training was essential to completing the research project, with 8.22% of interviewees calling on facilitating multidisciplinary cooperation [ 23 ].

Thus, undergraduates should attend theoretical and experimental courses to hone basic research skills before undertaking a research project. Nevertheless, teaching comes with difficulties while the integration of basic research experimental training into the curriculum system may serve as a solution. For example, microbial-related experiment training can be integrated into dental microbiology courses. Supplementary education can also be used to provide further study opportunities.

In response to the lack of background knowledge and the trend of multidisciplinary research, the authors proposed a new UDBRE component--rotation in different research departments, where students can practice basic research skills and gain background knowledge of different research fields.

There are still various difficulties in the implementation of UDBRE, as well as corresponding solutions (Table 2 ). It is necessary to optimize the UDBRE system, so that students can smoothly start research projects rather than encountering difficulties and losing interest. Measures are also needed to enhance teachers’ responsibility and interest.

Implications for undergraduate dental basic research education

Although UDBRE has not yet been popularized worldwide, the establishment of UDBRE has been explored by some countries, and UDBRE programs have recently increased. Through systematically reviewing these useful explorations and experiences, some enlightening implications were obtained.

Implications for dental education goals . There is an urgent need for compound talent with both clinical skills and basic research capacity. Even for clinical dentists, critical thinking and evidence-based medical thinking are also beneficial. The education of common research essence in UDBRE, such as research question discovery, literature retrieval, research design, and report writing, can favour dentists in their future clinical careers. Equipping students with primary but overall scientific research abilities so that students can develop critical thinking and form evidence-based minds is of great educational significance. Specific goals of UDBRE programs are proposed, but divergence exists within studies (Table 2 ). These specific goals can be summarized as “cultivating dental research talent with basic research capabilities and strong scientific interests”. Therefore, promoting scientific interest and cultivating five major research abilities, including basic research question discovery, literature retrieval, research design, experimental operation, and scientific report writing may serve as ideal objectives of UDBRE. Clarifying the education target may help dental schools design specific education methods to fulfil the goals. Setting primary and intermediate goals can help reduce students’ workload and increase the feasibility of UDBRE.

Implications for the dental course system . As a more skill-based course, there may be some concerns about dental basic research education in increasing the course burden and clinical study outcome. From the review outcomes and experience in carrying this course, it seems that UDBRE had no negative impact, but rather a positive effect on dental clinical study; students tend to have higher clinical-related course GPAs. This further confirms the necessity and feasibility of vertically integrating this system. Dental basic research education is systematic work, and the UDBRE system can be early, continuous, and long-term and be carried out simultaneously with clinical education in a vertically integrated way [ 32 ]. Mimicking the mature dental clinical training system, this study attempts to arrange and classify the training contents of UDBRE into three stages (Figs.  2 and 3 ): (1) Didactic course and experimental training period. In the first stage, students are expected to acquire the necessary basic research theory and skills, which may overcome the barrier of inadequate basic research skills and help students start the research practice (Fig.  3 ). Tables  4 and 5 lists examples of optimized and integrated curriculum settings. (2) Probationary period. Students with cumulative dental research knowledge and skills are introduced to different research departments as clinical rotations. The early direct exposure to different dental basic research departments enables reinforcement of impressions on how dental basic research is conducted and deepening of the knowledge of different disciplines. (3) Internship period. During this period, students shift from being passive audiences to active participants by undergoing a mentor-guided research project in a similar manner as the clinical internship. At the end of this preparatory stage, students are encouraged to finish an undergraduate research thesis. It should be noted that this teaching system is only one example (which has been carried out in our school), and different dental schools can adjust to the proper UDBRE system for them.

The three-stage UDBRE system mimicking the dental clinical training system. Since the education model of UDBRE is still under exploration and the dental clinical training system is relatively mature, we have attempted to arrange and classify the training contents of UDBRE into three stages mimicking the current clinical training system, including didactic course, probation, and internship

Detailed information of an example of UDBRE system which consisted of three stages. The prospective education goals, course forms, and assessment system of the undergraduate dental basic research education (UDBRE) program are listed in detail along the timeline

Implications for the assessment system . Concerning the common neglect of mid-term assessment and focus on certain research abilities, we propose that assessments should be targeted at overall educational goals and should be conducted not only at the end of each stage but throughout the whole period so as to adjust and formulate individualized training plans according to feedback. We have attempted to arrange and classify the assessment system of UDBRE, which can be found in Fig. 3 .

Future prospects

These implications enlighten a scientific, gradual, and long-term UDBRE system (Fig. 3 ). Undergraduates can be exposed early to dental basic science to maximize research experience and the opportunity to conduct publishable research. In support of further advancement, it is encouraged that universities report comprehensively in a structured way on their UDBRE programs to allow comparison and reproduction. With the development of the UDBRE system, it is of interest in the future to set up a new degree program that focuses on dental basic research for students with dental clinical medical backgrounds.

Availability of data and materials

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Abbreviations

Undergraduate Dental Basic Research Education

Education Resources Information Center

Grade point average

Visual analogue scale

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge Meirui Ma and Jiayu Li, who assisted in literature retrieval, and Lin Li and Yun Hong, who provided suggestions for this article.

This work was supported by the High Education Research Project for Young College Teachers of Guangdong Province (19GYB029), Guangdong Financial Fund for High-Caliber Hospital Construction (174–2018-XMZC-0001-03-0125/C-01), High Education Teaching Research and Reform Project of Guangdong Province, the Education Innovation Program for Postgraduates of Sun Yat-Sen University and Undergraduate Education Quality Program of Sun Yat-Sen University.

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Haiwen Liu and Zhuohong Gong contributed equally to this article and meet authorship conditions.

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Hospital of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, 56 Lingyuan Road West, Guangzhou, 510055, Guangdong, China

Haiwen Liu, Zhuohong Gong, Chen Ye, Xuejing Gan, Shijie Chen, Lin Li, Yun Hong, Junqing Xu, Zhengmei Lin & Zetao Chen

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The manuscript was written through the contributions of all authors. Z.C. and Z.L. convinced the ideas and supervised this work. J.X. convinced the ideas. L.L. and Y.H. collected and analyzed the data. C.Y., X.G., and S.C. analyzed the data. H.L. and Z.G. drafted the articles. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Haiwen Liu and Chen Ye are dental master candidates. Zhuohong Gong, Xuejing Gan, and Shijie Chen are dental undergraduate students. Lin Li is the lecturer and vice head of Student Administration. Yun Hong and Junqing Xu are associate professors and heads of Student Administration. Zhengmei Lin is Professor, and vice dean in charge of student education. Zetao Chen is Professor; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8344-2602 .

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Liu, H., Gong, Z., Ye, C. et al. The picture of undergraduate dental basic research education: a scoping review. BMC Med Educ 22 , 569 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03628-9

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Systematic reviews in dental research. A guideline

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• 1 Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [email protected]
• PMID: 23534316
• DOI: 10.17796/jcpd.37.2.h606137vj3826v61

Background: A systematic review aims to combine outcome data from published studies in a population. It is based on a number of steps and although there are numerous advantages in systematic review studies, dentists have been finding difficulties in performing them.

Objective: Taking into account the misconceptions and difficulties in conducting this kind of study, this article aims to guide readers for understanding, performing, and interpreting comprehensive systematic reviews in dental research.

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Introduction to Dental Research

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• Fahimeh Tabatabaei 3 &
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Research in dentistry includes a wide range of laboratory or clinical studies, animal studies, clinical trials, materials manufacturing, prevention, and more. To select a research topic, you should be aware of the meaning of key concepts in the research literature, be familiar with the different types of research , determine the field of interest, and review the literature. Following the special rules of scientific research would allow you to achieve the research objectives, which are not just optimizing/developing treatments, materials, tools, and techniques but also improving the living conditions.

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The picture of undergraduate dental basic research education: a scoping review

Hospital of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, 56 Lingyuan Road West, Guangzhou, 510055 Guangdong China

Zhuohong Gong

Xuejing gan, shijie chen, zhengmei lin, associated data.

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Undergraduate dental basic research education (UDBRE) is broadly regarded as an important approach for cultivating scientific research talent. This scoping review aims to summarize the current status of UDBRE in terms of educational goals, teaching program and content, assessment system, training outcomes, barriers, and reflections.

The authors performed a systematic literature search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) to identify peer-reviewed articles written in English from their inception to January 29, 2021. Articles were reviewed and screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Related data from the included publications were then collected and summarized.

The authors searched 646 publications and selected 16 articles to include in the study. The education goals included cultivating five major dental basic research capabilities ( n =10, 62.5%) and developing interest in basic research ( n =2, 12.5%). As for the teaching program, the mentor-guided student research project was the most popular ( n =11, 68.8%), followed by didactic courses ( n =5, 31.3%), experimental skills training ( n =1, 6.3%), and the combination of the above forms ( n =3, 18.8%). However, the assessment system and training outcome diverged. Existing evidence showed that UDBRE reached satisfying education outcomes. Barriers included excessive curriculum burden ( n =2, 12.5%), tutor shortage ( n =3, 18.8%), lack of financial support ( n =5, 31.3%), and inadequate research skills and knowledge ( n =5, 31.3%).

Conclusions

Although efforts were made, the variation between studies revealed the immature status of UDBRE. A practical UDBRE education system paradigm was put forward. Meanwhile, more research is required to optimize a robust UDBRE system with clear education goals, well-designed teaching forms, and convincing assessment systems.

According to the director of the US Office of Scientific Development and Research, “basic research” means advancing scientific knowledge and understanding of a topic or certain natural phenomenon, primarily in natural science [ 1 ]. Basic research is theoretical and focuses on general principles and testing theories and the importance of basic research in dentistry development is beyond question. Breakthroughs in dental basic research have profoundly advanced the diagnosis and treatment of dentistry by generating new ideas, principles, and theories and advancing fundamental knowledge of dentistry [ 1 , 2 ]. For example, the formulation of the three primary factors theory (bacteria-diet-host) established the theoretical basis of prevention strategies such as plaque control and pit and fissure sealing [ 3 ]. The establishment of mechanobiology-based bone remodelling theories underpins the biologic basis of contemporary orthodontic therapy [ 4 ]. In short, dental basic research contributes substantially to the advancement of dentistry.

However, the current dental scientist talent pool is facing a shortage, and the competitiveness of dental talent is decreasing [ 5 , 6 ]. The 2020 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) survey of dental school seniors showed that 85% of dental graduates chose private practice, rather than pursuing research careers [ 7 ]. Moreover, from 1999 to 2012, trends in the numbers of grant applications and awards to dentist-scientists point to an overall decline. The average age of first-time funded dentists was 52.7 years for females and 54.6 years for males [ 8 ]. Most dental practitioners are equipped with clinical skills, yet have relatively poor research abilities.

This trend leads to the reflection on the effectiveness of current dental education in cultivating dental research talent. As early as 1926, the Gies Report recommended that dental education should encourage and provide dental students with research opportunities within the optional dental curriculum [ 9 ]. “Undergraduate Dental Basic Research Education (UDBRE)”, concerning the topic of “basic research”, serves as an integral part and complement of undergraduate dental education [ 10 , 11 ]. It includes not only laboratory-related training (RCR, western blot, etc.) but also the primary introduction of commonalities of research, including knowing what is a problem, how to raise a scientific problem, etc. [ 12 ]. UDBRE enhances the access, acceptance, and applicability of basic science for dental undergraduates [ 13 ] in various forms, including but not limited to didactic lectures [ 13 – 17 ], laboratory-based experimental courses [ 16 ], student research programs [ 13 , 15 , 18 – 23 ], etc.

UDBRE is broadly regarded as an important approach in training innovative dental researchers [ 23 ]. For individuals, UDBRE equips undergraduates with overall “basic research” capacities [ 10 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 22 , 23 ], serving as fundamental tools to solve basic science problems and further achieve academic breakthroughs. In addition, UDBRE stimulates active learning and critical thinking [ 10 ] and sparks scientific interest [ 15 , 23 ], leading dental students to reflect and discover basic science problem in daily clinical practice, and therefore, contribute to dentistry advancement. Over time, trained students, equipped with both clinical skills and adept “basic research” capacities, boost the scientist-dentist talent reserves and show a higher willingness to stay in school to continue an academic career as well as to teaching, which leads to the expansion of college staff and therefore relieves the current status of brain drain [ 13 ]. Supported by the government in policy and finance [ 24 ], UDBRE has become a new hot spot in dental education.

Dental clinical education has formed a mature training system, starting with didactic courses, then probation, internship, general training, and finally professional training to achieve educational goals at different stages [ 25 , 26 ]. In contrast, UDBRE is still at a primary and immature stage. Most dental schools have not started student research programs or provide inadequate research programs due to various limitations [ 15 ]. The existing UDBRE education goals are vague, which may misdirect the proper setting of specific curricula. Thus, the current curriculum formats are diverse, and an optimized UDBREE system according to students’ step-by-step learning process has not yet been formed [ 10 , 11 , 13 – 23 , 27 ]. Furthermore, the assessment methods vary. It is not yet clear which indicators can truly reflect the genuine effects of UDBRE, and the lack of an established optimized assessment system has also caused difficulties in curriculum design [ 13 , 18 , 19 , 23 ]. It is unclear how the UDBRE is performed in different regions, including the content, teaching format and assessment methods. The training outcomes and the challenges in the implementation are also confusing. In addition, the immature development stage of UDBRE and the small number of related studies call for larger scale collection of information.

For these reasons, a scoping review was performed to systematically collecting information in the area, and identifying any existing gaps in knowledge to conclude the current picture of the UDBRE programs in terms of goals, content and teaching format, assessment, outcomes, barriers, and challenges. It is essential to establish an advanced education model of UDBRE and analyse it from a scientific perspective.

Materials and methods

This scoping review was performed in accordance with the PRISMA Guidelines [ 28 ]. Three trained researchers conducted a systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases. “Dental education”, “Undergraduate”, “Basic research”, and their synonyms were used as keywords (Table  1 ).

The search strategy and keywords used with each database

Eligibility criteria

The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) all studies related to “Dental education”, “Undergraduate” and “Basic research” no matter curriculum forms, (2) English-language articles, and (3) articles published from their inception to January 29, 2021.

The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) studies not focusing on one of “dental education”, “undergraduate” or “basic research”, (2) studies related to “dental hygiene” or “dental technology” were also excluded because these subjects were different from “dentistry” in curriculum, and (3) non-English written articles.

Selection of sources of evidence

Three reviewers searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases, removed duplicate documents, and screened the articles independently according to the titles and abstracts. Then, each of the three reviewers screened the full texts of two-thirds of the retained articles, which means that each article was reviewed twice. Throughout the whole process, reviewers held meetings to address discrepancies and reach an agreement on the final included articles. The process of screening literature is summarized in a flow diagram (Fig.  1 ).

PRISMA flow diagram. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flow diagram shows the detailed process of information retrieval and literature screening

Data charting process and synthesis of results

The authors extracted information from the included articles, includes basic information, education goals, teaching programs, assessment methods and indicators, educational outcomes, barriers, and main conclusions.

Results and discussion

In total, 646 articles were obtained initially and 16 articles were included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Fig. ​ (Fig.1). 1 ). The included articles have been gradually published since 2008. The duration of the education project in each article varied, and lasted for a maximum of 25 years. The basic information of the included articles is listed in Table  2 .

Summary of basic information, characteristics and main conclusions of included literatures

Abbreviations for reported type: EGC Education goals consensus, DP Description program, AS Assessment system, SO Study outcomes, IB Implementation barriers

Abbreviations for education goals: BRPD Basic research question discovery ability, LR Literature retrieval ability, RD Research design capability, ET Experimental techniques, SRW Scientific report writing ability, PSI Promoting scientific interest

Abbreviations for curriculum forms: CC Compulsory curriculum, EC Elective curriculum, ECA Extra-curriculum activity

Abbreviations for teaching program: TC Theoretical courses, EST Experimental skills training, MgSRP Mentor-guided student research projects

Abbreviations for barriers: ECB Excessive curriculum burden, TS Tutors’ shortage, IG Insufficient guidance, LFS Lack of financial support, ISK Inadequate basic research skills, and background knowledge

Specific targets of UDBRE have been put forward around the ultimate goal: “cultivating dental research talent with basic research capabilities and strong scientific interest” [ 10 , 11 , 16 , 17 , 19 – 23 , 27 ] (Table ​ (Table2). 2 ). According to the process of scientific research, the proposed target competencies are subdivided into five aspects: (1) Basic research question discovery ability. Students should put forward innovative scientific questions from the difficulties of dental clinical practice [ 19 , 21 , 23 ]. Creativity is also an important dimension [ 19 ]. (2) Literature retrieval ability. Undergraduates shall be capable of conducting literature retrieval, reviewing the progress of the research question, critical thinking on previous research, and proposing a hypothesis [ 17 , 19 , 21 ]. (3) Research design capability. This goal expects students to retrieve literature, think critically, apply theoretical knowledge [ 11 ], formulate clear aims [ 19 ], design protocols [ 23 ], integrate creative ideas, consider ethical principles [ 19 ], and conduct preliminary experiments [ 23 ]. Many student research programs also aim to cultivate the ability to obtain financial support (research funds, scholarships, etc.) by writing applications or oral presentations on their research projects [ 11 , 23 ]. (4) Experimental techniques. The student should master basic laboratory techniques, obtain valid data and analyse experimental data [ 16 , 23 ]. (5) Scientific report writing ability. It comprises data analysis [ 23 ], graph plotting, critical thinking, and scientific report writing (thesis, article, etc.) [ 11 , 19 – 22 , 27 ]. Academic communication is a further goal. After the complete training of UDBRE, students are expected to deepen their understanding of scientific knowledge and develop professional theory and practice [ 19 ], as well as to establish their competencies in problem-solving and teamwork [ 10 ]. In addition to cultivating capabilities, promoting scientific interest is also an important goal of UDBRE, which is ignored by many guidelines [ 23 , 27 ].

Specific goals of UDBRE programs are proposed but divergence exists within studies. The cultivation of the above five major abilities and the promotion of scientific interest serve as ideal objectives of UDBRE. Clarifying the education target helps dental schools design specific education methods to fulfil the goals.

Content and teaching format

The reported content and teaching format of UDBRE are diverse but have something in common. The authors identified four major forms (Table ​ (Table2): 2 ): (1) theoretical courses or lectures [ 14 – 18 ]; (2) experimental skills training [ 16 , 23 ]; (3) mentor-guided student research projects [ 10 , 11 , 13 , 15 , 18 – 23 , 27 ]; and (4) combination of above forms [ 15 , 16 , 18 ].

Dental basic research theoretical courses

A Brazilian dentistry school reported adding theoretical lessons before the experimental course. Compared with those who attended a single laboratory class, participants had more discussion and showed a deeper understanding of important science topics in the final reports [ 16 ]. Similar lessons have been reported [ 14 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]. The dental basic research theoretical courses before the experimental lessons are helpful to contextualize basic research in dental courses, learn scientific knowledge and establish scientific thinking.

The teaching content of each study had different focuses, covering scientific research methods [ 14 , 18 ], literature retrieval [ 17 ], laboratory safety [ 16 ], training of basic research thinking [ 14 ], data analysis, and paper writing [ 17 ]. Regrettably, no document recorded the textbooks or reference materials used. The specific teaching methods also had their own merits. Some were traditional didactic curricula [ 18 ], and others adopted novel methods, such as project-based learning [ 16 ] and problem-based learning [ 10 ].

Although it is important in systematic research knowledge enlightenment, theoretical courses in UDBRE have been reported in relatively few studies [ 14 – 18 ] (Table ​ (Table2, 2 , n  = 5). The teaching content and method of didactic courses were unclear and more efforts are needed to improve feasibility. The basic research process, academic norms, and primary skills of dental basic research should also be included in the teaching content.

Experimental skills training in UDBRE

Experimental skills training (Table ​ (Table2, 2 , n  = 6) is usually integrated into UDBRE, together with other programs [ 11 , 13 , 16 , 18 , 20 , 23 ], rather than an isolated educational program. The most common situation is that undergraduates learn the experiment involved in their projects under mentorship [ 23 ]. Another situation is to combine experimental and theoretical courses [ 16 ]. Although the current method is feasible, students may lack systematic training, and acquire experimental skills occasionally and irregularly. Such scattered and nonstandard learning should be transformed into a systematic and well-designed course.

Mentor-guided student research project

The mentor-guided student research project is the most common among the included articles [ 10 , 11 , 13 , 15 , 18 – 23 , 27 ] (Table ​ (Table2, 2 , n  = 11), in which dental students experience the research process under mentorship. It usually begins with dental scientific questions put forward by undergraduates, and then they design their own scientific research projects after preparation (literature research, protocol design, etc.). Subsequently, they apply for research funds, scholarships, or student research projects. If accepted, students need to complete experiments in the laboratory, analyse data, express critical reflections, write an article or a report and finally complete the student research project under the guidance of the tutors [ 11 , 13 , 15 , 18 , 19 , 22 , 23 ].

Most research topics focus on dentistry. For topics in the field of medicine, human sciences, or other professionals, students needed to discuss the contribution of their research findings to dental practice [ 19 , 23 ], which may promote interdisciplinary research. In terms of specific disciplines, in clinical departments, orthodontics, oral surgery, periodontology, and restorative dentistry have been the most popular fields. While the most attractive basic science departments have been microbiology, biochemistry, and pathology [ 11 ].

Although interdisciplinary mentorship is practicable, the research topic should be within the field of dentistry due to its unique characteristics. However, many schools failed to popularize student research projects due to insufficient dental supervisors. In this situation, interdisciplinary research is acceptable because scientific research has commonalities.

As the results disclose, UDBRE has not yet been popularized worldwide but dental schools have become aware of the significance of UDBRE. Some schools have begun to make some efforts and have achieved preliminary results. Various forms of UDBRE have been established, such as theoretical courses, experimental skills training, and mentor-guided student research projects.

Compared with the mature clinical training model, dental basic research education has not been organized. There have not been many integrated projects of the above forms [ 15 , 16 , 18 ]. Most of them are short-term projects of up to two years [ 18 , 23 ]. Long-term training projects have not yet appeared. Given all this, the next goal of UDBRE is to form a scientific and gradual education system.

There are differences between education forms. Which are better methods also remains unknown. How to organically integrate different education forms to maximize the effectiveness of education requires further study. Moreover, the different emphasis on teaching methods may be attributed to differences in cultures, policies, and school conditions [ 19 ].

Assessment methods

The assessment methods are related to the education forms (Table ​ (Table2). 2 ). For theoretical courses, educators employed the following: (1) test on concepts [ 16 , 17 ] – a Brazilian dental school set an exam about basic concepts of dental biomaterial at the end of classes [ 16 ]; (2) article presentation [ 16 ] – students need to search articles on the assigned topic and present the articles as well as their perception of search methodologies, result translation, and critical reading skills in a seminar [ 16 ]; and (3) questionnaire [ 14 – 18 ]. The assessment methods of experimental skills training comprised the following: (1) exam [ 16 ]; (2) experimental report [ 16 ]; and (3) questionnaire [ 16 ]. Most research projects arranged the assessment at the end of the project, including: (1) submission of a thesis [ 13 , 19 , 22 ], which is the most popular and basic form of assessment. Details of the project report were well specified in several Swedish dental schools, such as page numbers, structure, layout, references, etc. [ 19 ]; (2) oral presentations or meetings [ 11 , 13 , 18 ] – the verbal presentation at the University of Manitoba was styled after an MSc thesis defence, where students summarized their findings and several professors provided oral feedback [ 13 ]. The Student Research Club (SRC) of Istanbul University held annual meetings where students gave 10- to 15-min speeches on their research. Additionally, a booklet containing all the project abstracts was distributed to participants, which promoted academic exchanges [ 11 ]; (3) competitions [ 18 , 27 ] – in South Africa [ 18 ], undergraduates were awarded in Colgate Undergraduate Competition based on the project quality and their insights shown in the questioning part; (4) questionnaire [ 11 , 15 , 18 , 21 – 23 ]; and (5) combination of the above methods [ 13 , 18 , 22 , 23 ].

Nevertheless, considering the assessment time point, the majority of studies chose summative assessments [ 11 , 13 – 15 , 17 , 19 – 23 , 27 , 29 ], while the others chose formative assessments [ 16 , 18 ]. Among all the included studies, only one study mentioned midterm assessment [ 23 ]. Most projects mainly relied on mentors’ supervision during implementation, which may account for the abortion of some student research projects. Moreover, ambiguous assessment indicators of midterm supervision may not truly reflect the training outcome or the achievement of educational goals.

Assessment indicators

Targeting the educational goals, specific indicators were adopted according to assessment methods and the feasibility of indicator collection (Table ​ (Table2): 2 ): (1) The problem discovery ability can be assessed by self-assessment [ 11 , 14 , 22 , 23 ] or evaluated along with other research abilities. For example, the number of funded projects can reflect both the ability of problem discovery and project design [ 11 , 23 ]. (2) The literature retrieval ability can be evaluated through self-assessment [ 11 , 17 , 21 ]. (3) The research design capability can be depicted by the number of applied research funds [ 11 , 23 ] and self-assessment [ 11 ]. (4) The ability of experimental operation can be assessed through experiment course scores [ 16 , 23 ], experimental reports [ 16 ], and self-assessment [ 11 , 14 , 23 ]. (5) The scientific report writing ability can be evaluated by indicators, such as the number of published papers [ 23 ], research competition awards [ 27 ], and self-assessment [ 11 , 14 ]. (6) Students’ interest in scientific research can be estimated through (a) instant feedback, such as the number of participants [ 13 ] and attendance rate [ 23 ]. (b) long-term influence, including future career choices and talent retention [ 11 , 13 , 18 , 23 , 29 ].

The assessment system varies across studies. Regretfully, imperfection of the current assessment is observed as they are incomprehensive and immethodical. The lack of assessment of overall education goals is manifested as the ignorance of one or several aspects of education goals. In addition, the neglect of mid-term assessment is common in the included studies. This leads to difficulties in evaluating the overall performance and comparing the effectiveness between studies and programs. Hence, a systemic and comprehensive assessment system based on education goals should be established to monitor the outcome of UDBRE for timely adjustment and long-term tracking.

Existing reports uncover the education achievements of UDBRE, including target research ability development and scientific interest promotion (Table  3 ).

Summary of dental basic research education outcomes of included literatures

Abbreviations : GPA Grade point average, VAS Visual analogue scale

a VAS score shows the degree of satisfaction. It ranges from 0 to 100

Development of target research abilities

(1) The problem discovery ability: Nigerian educators discovered that 45.2% of undergraduates chose the research topic by themselves [ 22 ]. (2) The literature retrieval ability: SRC participants strongly agreed that the program developed their experience of searching archives [ 11 ]. Likewise, Nieminen reported that almost 80% of undergraduates perceived to have good or passable literature retrieval skills after compulsory information retrieval lessons [ 17 ]. (3) The research design capability: Yu’s study revealed that the number of funded research projects has increased in the past 11 years, from 1 ~ 2 projects per year (2007–2011) to 7 projects per year (2017) [ 23 ]. Similarly, Guven’s study showed growing trend of funds and the participants agreed that they developed better research planning and independent inquiry skills during the research [ 11 ]. (4) The ability of experimental operation: A Brazilian study showed that compared with students who only participated in theoretical courses, the average course scores of PBL participants were slightly higher (7.8 ± 1.2 and 7.2 ± 1.6, respectively). Significantly more content of methodology and scientific literature support was detected in the experimental report of PBL participants [ 16 ]. In Yu’s and Guven’s study, the students believed that UDBRE helped to obtain experimental techniques [ 11 , 23 ]. (5) The scientific report writing ability: A study showed that UDBRE participants published significantly more articles (1.62 ± 1.41) than nonparticipants (1.31 ± 0.75) during the postgraduate period [ 23 ]. UDBRE participants from the University of Manitoba won first place in a scientific competition (Canadian Association for Dental Research) for their outstanding scientific work [ 27 ]. Analogously, SRC participants agreed that the program strengthened their analytical skills as well as their ability to present research results and therefore formed a better basis for postgraduate studies [ 11 ]. However, only 46.7% of surveyed Pakistani medical and dental undergraduates claimed to know how to write articles. Few students (17.7%) acquired knowledge of the procedure of publication of articles, indicating that these studies scarcely emphasized the cultivation of thesis writing [ 14 ].

Students’ interest in scientific research

UDBRE has both short-term and long-lasting effects on students’ interest in scientific research (Table ​ (Table3). 3 ). (1) Instant feedback: UDBRE participants increased from one (1980) to 11 (2005) [ 13 ] in Scott’s study. Yu’s study found that the attendance rate of UDBRE increased from 36.84 to 90% and that students showed high satisfaction (VAS score = 72.36 ± 20.37) [ 23 ]. A South African study found that 92% of students realized the importance of basic research and 34% were willing to participate in research activities again [ 18 ]. The satisfaction rate of different Swedish dental schools varied from 26 to 50% [ 19 ]. Three studies reported that students with research experience possessed a mediocre attitude towards research and 75% did not gain confidence in research [ 21 , 22 , 29 ]. (2) Long-term influence: SRC members showed great willingness to pursue a Ph.D. degree. Furthermore,74 SRC members continued studying at Istanbul University from 2005 to 2009 and 31% of present teaching assistants were former SRC members [ 11 ]. Similarly, at the University of Manitoba, 31.5% of UDBRE graduates continued pursuing higher academic degrees and 17% of them obtained postgraduate programs [ 13 ]. However, Grossman found that in three out of four surveyed schools, over half of the students were unwilling to do research in the future [ 18 ].

Existing evidence (Table ​ (Table3) 3 ) shows that the UDBRE has reached certain education outcomes. UDBRE participants yielded satisfying advancements in targeted scientific research abilities. Undergraduates expressed a high degree of satisfaction with UDBRE and interest in scientific research and demonstrated more willingness to continue their postgraduate studies and academic careers. Few students conveyed negative attitudes [ 15 , 18 ], who may encounter difficulties (conflict with clinical learning, failure in the experiment, lack of guidance, etc.). This arouses educators’ concern about barriers to UDBRE and reminds educators to offer guidance and assistance to improve the UDBRE program timely.

For current UDBRE deficiency, apart from subjective design reasons, objective obstacles cannot be neglected (Table ​ (Table2), 2 ), including excessive curriculum burden [ 10 , 14 , 29 ], shortage of academic faculty, and mentorship [ 6 , 15 , 18 , 23 , 29 ], insufficient financial support [ 10 , 14 , 18 , 21 , 23 ], and deficiency in research methodology and background knowledge [ 15 , 17 , 21 , 23 , 29 ]. Reflections and possible solutions are provided in some publications [ 10 , 14 , 15 , 18 , 23 ].

Excessive curriculum burden?

UDBRE may aggravate the heavy burden of dental clinical courses. In Pakistan, 91.9% of medical and dental undergraduates complained about the heavy curriculum load [ 14 ]. Twenty-two percent of students in South Africa [ 18 ] and 12% in China [ 23 ] admitted the conflict of study time and research time. Some studies observed a lack of interest and initiative towards scientific research due to the heavy load of time-and-energy-consuming dental clinical curricula [ 10 , 29 ]. A survey demonstrated that only 34% of interviewees were sure to attend research even if it was voluntary [ 18 ].

In fact, follow-up studies on grade point average (GPA) [ 11 , 13 , 23 ] and scholarship [ 13 , 23 ] showed that UDBRE had no negative impact, but rather a positive effect on the dental clinical study (Table ​ (Table3). 3 ). In Canada, UDBRE participants showed similar baseline GPAs as nonparticipants, while they gained significantly higher total GPAs upon graduation (3.42 ± 0.41 and 3.14 ± 0.44, respectively) [ 13 ]. Similar GPA comparison outcomes were observed by Guven (3.05 ± 0.44 and 2.55 ± 0.42, respectively, P  < .001) [ 11 ] and Yu (3.41 ± 0.02 and 3.21 ± 0.04, respectively, P  < .001) [ 23 ]. Moreover, 20% of outstanding graduates at Manitoba University have participated in UDBRE [ 13 ]. Likewise, Yu observed that UDBRE participants won significantly more Honor Rolls awards per student (0.53 ± 0.07) than nonparticipants (0.30 ± 0.06) [ 23 ].

These results indicate that students are capable of coping with such pressure, rather than it adversely affecting their study (Table ​ (Table3). 3 ). Therefore, educators should offer psychological guidance to release pressure, and optimize curriculum design to control time occupation. This provides an opportunity for universities to integrate the UDBRE into the undergraduate curriculum, sort out and optimize all existing undergraduate courses, integrate repeated lessons, and condense into a more reasonable undergraduate curriculum system. Flexibly setting primary and intermediate educational goals, adopting adjustable teaching methods by integrating core curriculum and extra curriculum, and the early exposure to UDBRE serve as alternatives to avoid time conflict.

Tutors shortage and insufficient guidance?

The lack of academic faculty is mostly mentioned in the UDBRE literature [ 6 , 18 , 29 ]. From 2004 to 2005, there were 250 unfilled faculty positions in dental schools in the USA [ 30 ]. The same applies to South Africa [ 18 ] and the United Kingdom [ 6 ].

Moreover, quite a few studies reflect the insufficient guidance of faculty [ 15 , 18 , 23 ]. Grossman [ 18 ] found that nearly one fifth of students felt inadequate supervisory assistance. These educational skills were lacking at the beginning of most junior assistant professors’ careers [ 23 ]. This could be a serious problem. Supervisors lacking mentorship had a negative impact on students’ research experience [ 31 ].

Several measures solve the shortage, including: (1) to increase the salary of research faculty; (2) to expand the faculty troop by recruiting young doctors, postdoctoral fellows, and even academic tutors from other disciplines; (3) to integrate student projects into teachers’ research fields, which promotes more detailed and professional guidance from tutors and releases tutors’ understaffed situations with undergraduates’ assistance; and (4) to provide mentor training courses to junior tutors.

Lack of financial support?

Both students and faculty acknowledged that funds and financial support were essential for student research projects [ 23 ]. However, 86.9% and 92.6% of medical and dental students, respectively, faced fund shortages in Pakistan [ 14 ]. The government, universities, and dental schools are indispensable in providing financial support and an academic environment to enable the sustainable operation of the UDBRE [ 23 ].

Inadequate basic research skills and background knowledge?

A shortage of basic research skills and background knowledge led to difficulty in the initiation and a decrease in initiative [ 15 , 29 ]. Undergraduates, especially freshmen, spend more time absorbing background knowledge and methodology of scientific research [ 15 ]. Even fourth-year dental students exhibited insufficient research knowledge and unsatisfactory information retrieval ability [ 17 ].

Moreover, most students are only familiar with the background knowledge of a certain topic notwithstanding multidisciplinary research is a new trend in basic research. Yu recorded an increasing proportion of multidisciplinary projects from 0 (2007) to a maximum of 55.56% (2015). In addition, both dental faculty and students were aware that cross-departmental training was essential to completing the research project, with 8.22% of interviewees calling on facilitating multidisciplinary cooperation [ 23 ].

Thus, undergraduates should attend theoretical and experimental courses to hone basic research skills before undertaking a research project. Nevertheless, teaching comes with difficulties while the integration of basic research experimental training into the curriculum system may serve as a solution. For example, microbial-related experiment training can be integrated into dental microbiology courses. Supplementary education can also be used to provide further study opportunities.

In response to the lack of background knowledge and the trend of multidisciplinary research, the authors proposed a new UDBRE component--rotation in different research departments, where students can practice basic research skills and gain background knowledge of different research fields.

There are still various difficulties in the implementation of UDBRE, as well as corresponding solutions (Table ​ (Table2). 2 ). It is necessary to optimize the UDBRE system, so that students can smoothly start research projects rather than encountering difficulties and losing interest. Measures are also needed to enhance teachers’ responsibility and interest.

Implications for undergraduate dental basic research education

Although UDBRE has not yet been popularized worldwide, the establishment of UDBRE has been explored by some countries, and UDBRE programs have recently increased. Through systematically reviewing these useful explorations and experiences, some enlightening implications were obtained.

Implications for dental education goals . There is an urgent need for compound talent with both clinical skills and basic research capacity. Even for clinical dentists, critical thinking and evidence-based medical thinking are also beneficial. The education of common research essence in UDBRE, such as research question discovery, literature retrieval, research design, and report writing, can favour dentists in their future clinical careers. Equipping students with primary but overall scientific research abilities so that students can develop critical thinking and form evidence-based minds is of great educational significance. Specific goals of UDBRE programs are proposed, but divergence exists within studies (Table ​ (Table2). 2 ). These specific goals can be summarized as “cultivating dental research talent with basic research capabilities and strong scientific interests”. Therefore, promoting scientific interest and cultivating five major research abilities, including basic research question discovery, literature retrieval, research design, experimental operation, and scientific report writing may serve as ideal objectives of UDBRE. Clarifying the education target may help dental schools design specific education methods to fulfil the goals. Setting primary and intermediate goals can help reduce students’ workload and increase the feasibility of UDBRE.

Implications for the dental course system . As a more skill-based course, there may be some concerns about dental basic research education in increasing the course burden and clinical study outcome. From the review outcomes and experience in carrying this course, it seems that UDBRE had no negative impact, but rather a positive effect on dental clinical study; students tend to have higher clinical-related course GPAs. This further confirms the necessity and feasibility of vertically integrating this system. Dental basic research education is systematic work, and the UDBRE system can be early, continuous, and long-term and be carried out simultaneously with clinical education in a vertically integrated way [ 32 ]. Mimicking the mature dental clinical training system, this study attempts to arrange and classify the training contents of UDBRE into three stages (Figs.  2 and ​ and3): 3 ): (1) Didactic course and experimental training period. In the first stage, students are expected to acquire the necessary basic research theory and skills, which may overcome the barrier of inadequate basic research skills and help students start the research practice (Fig.  3 ). Tables  4 and ​ and5 5 lists examples of optimized and integrated curriculum settings. (2) Probationary period. Students with cumulative dental research knowledge and skills are introduced to different research departments as clinical rotations. The early direct exposure to different dental basic research departments enables reinforcement of impressions on how dental basic research is conducted and deepening of the knowledge of different disciplines. (3) Internship period. During this period, students shift from being passive audiences to active participants by undergoing a mentor-guided research project in a similar manner as the clinical internship. At the end of this preparatory stage, students are encouraged to finish an undergraduate research thesis. It should be noted that this teaching system is only one example (which has been carried out in our school), and different dental schools can adjust to the proper UDBRE system for them.

The three-stage UDBRE system mimicking the dental clinical training system. Since the education model of UDBRE is still under exploration and the dental clinical training system is relatively mature, we have attempted to arrange and classify the training contents of UDBRE into three stages mimicking the current clinical training system, including didactic course, probation, and internship

Detailed information of an example of UDBRE system which consisted of three stages. The prospective education goals, course forms, and assessment system of the undergraduate dental basic research education (UDBRE) program are listed in detail along the timeline

An example of didactic courses at the first stage of the UDBRE system. According to the cultivation of the five research abilities in the education goals, the contents generally include five sessions: (1) formulating a good research question; (2) answering the research question; (3) seeking funds; (4) presenting findings; (5) other issues during the scientific inquiry

An example of experimental training at the first stage of the UDBRE system

Implications for the assessment system . Concerning the common neglect of mid-term assessment and focus on certain research abilities, we propose that assessments should be targeted at overall educational goals and should be conducted not only at the end of each stage but throughout the whole period so as to adjust and formulate individualized training plans according to feedback. We have attempted to arrange and classify the assessment system of UDBRE, which can be found in Fig. ​ Fig.3 3 .

Future prospects

These implications enlighten a scientific, gradual, and long-term UDBRE system (Fig. ​ (Fig.3). 3 ). Undergraduates can be exposed early to dental basic science to maximize research experience and the opportunity to conduct publishable research. In support of further advancement, it is encouraged that universities report comprehensively in a structured way on their UDBRE programs to allow comparison and reproduction. With the development of the UDBRE system, it is of interest in the future to set up a new degree program that focuses on dental basic research for students with dental clinical medical backgrounds.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge Meirui Ma and Jiayu Li, who assisted in literature retrieval, and Lin Li and Yun Hong, who provided suggestions for this article.

Abbreviations

Authors’ contributions

The manuscript was written through the contributions of all authors. Z.C. and Z.L. convinced the ideas and supervised this work. J.X. convinced the ideas. L.L. and Y.H. collected and analyzed the data. C.Y., X.G., and S.C. analyzed the data. H.L. and Z.G. drafted the articles. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Authors’ information

Haiwen Liu and Chen Ye are dental master candidates. Zhuohong Gong, Xuejing Gan, and Shijie Chen are dental undergraduate students. Lin Li is the lecturer and vice head of Student Administration. Yun Hong and Junqing Xu are associate professors and heads of Student Administration. Zhengmei Lin is Professor, and vice dean in charge of student education. Zetao Chen is Professor; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8344-2602 .

This work was supported by the High Education Research Project for Young College Teachers of Guangdong Province (19GYB029), Guangdong Financial Fund for High-Caliber Hospital Construction (174–2018-XMZC-0001-03-0125/C-01), High Education Teaching Research and Reform Project of Guangdong Province, the Education Innovation Program for Postgraduates of Sun Yat-Sen University and Undergraduate Education Quality Program of Sun Yat-Sen University.

Availability of data and materials

Declarations.

Reported as not applicable.

Not applicable.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Haiwen Liu and Zhuohong Gong contributed equally to this article and meet authorship conditions.

Contributor Information

Zhengmei Lin, Email: nc.ude.usys.liam@mhznil .

Zetao Chen, Email: nc.ude.usys.liam@3teznehc .

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• Published: 26 July 2019

Which dental research topics are relevant to patients?

• Paul Hellyer 1  

British Dental Journal volume  227 ,  page 113 ( 2019 ) Cite this article

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Kakudate N, Yokoyama Y, Sumida F et al. Practice-based research agendas priorities selected by patients: findings from a practice-based research network. Int Dent J 2019; 69: 183−191.

Study shows priorities differ with age and gender.

'Public involvement in research is defined as research that is done with or by the public and not to, about or for them' (Involve www.invo.org.uk ) and many grant funders now require evidence of public and patient involvement in research projects. The research agenda, however, may still be being set by academics and not by patients. Relatively little research is based in general practice.

Using a questionnaire with patients in 11 dental clinics in Japan, Kakudate and colleagues have attempted to find out which research topics would be important and relevant to patients. Involving patients 'may provide opportunities to produce research which is valid, relevant, acceptable, sustainable and innovative.'

Following a pilot study, a 31 item questionnaire, divided into 11 categories was developed (orthodontic treatment, regular dental check ups, prognosis of dental treatment, dental implants, tooth brushing, diet and food, aesthetic dental care, topical fluoride application, social health insurance, bruxism and miscellaneous) and was completed by 482 patients (87.6% response rate).

The most commonly selected research agenda was 'age specific care to maintain oral health' (n = 84), followed closely by topics related to toothpastes and brushing, the durability of restorations and questions relating to diet, caries and periodontal disease. The least popular topic related to the use of interdental cleaning aids. In patients <40, selection of toothpaste was the most popular topic. Only responders <30 listed the timing of wisdom teeth extractions and orthodontic as topics. Only those aged >60 listed the durability of restorations in relation to treatment available under the national health insurance scheme.

Statistically significant age and gender differences were noted. Younger patients rated orthodontic treatment, aesthetic dental care and fluoride applications more frequently than older patients. Older patients rated regular dental check ups, implants, diet and health insurance as more interesting than younger ones. Females rated aesthetics as more important than did males, who rated toothbrushing as more interesting than did females.

Responses may be different from within a different culture. However, these results clearly show that different age groups have differing priorities with regard to research priorities. If research is to be patient centred and relevant, then shaping research questions around actual patients' concerns, needs and values assumes greater importance. These results may 'help research funders identify future priorities that have the greatest impact on patients and the clinicians who treat them.'

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Hellyer, P. Which dental research topics are relevant to patients?. Br Dent J 227 , 113 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-019-0567-1

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126 Good Informative Speech Topics – 2024

June 23, 2024

What is an informative speech? You may be asking this question if you find yourself needing to give one for a class or extracurricular. Unlike a persuasive speech , which is designed to convince an audience of something, or a debate , which can be polemic by nature, an informative speech is meant to educate its listeners on a topic, elucidate an unclear idea, or simply help an audience delve more deeply into a subject. In other words, while informative speeches can persuade or argue, they don’t have to. In this article, we’ll highlight a few tips on how to choose good informative speech topics, and then provide a list of 126 informative speech ideas to get you brainstorming for your next big speech!

How to Choose Informative Speech Topics

Your choice of informative speech topic will depend greatly upon the task at hand: is this speech for a class? A passion project ? A campus rally? A professional development conference? Recruiting for a particular major, club, or community service organization? A high school speech competition? Once you know the purpose and parameters of your speech, it will be easier to select an informative speech topic that is an appropriate subject and size. Additionally, it’s important to consider your audience, expertise, scope, research, and tone before you delve into your writing.

Knowing your target audience is key to creating reciprocity, or the necessary give and take between speaker and listener that creates communication and understanding. Speakers who know their audiences are better able to shape their speeches to be well-received. [i] Imagine, for example, you’re giving an informative speech on “Jane Austen’s narrators.” You must ask yourself: are you giving your speech to a panel of scholars, to educated adult non-experts, or to grade school-aged children? If your audience will be comprised of literature professors, your speech should provide fairly advanced and in-depth knowledge and should be filled with the latest developments in professional literary criticism. If your audience is made up of grade school-aged children, you’ll want to start with the basics, like who was Jane Austen? And what, exactly, is a narrator?

As you give your informative speech, you’ll want to think about not only your audience’s level of expertise in your speech topic, but also your own (and it’s okay if you’re a novice in the subject!). [ii] An informative speech often includes or takes into consideration a synthesis of preexisting scholarship in a field or information around a topic. While you don’t need to apprise your audience of an entire body of research before you begin delivering your speech, you do want to have a working knowledge of the preexisting conversation around your informative speech topic. [iii] This will inform the level of research you’ll need to perform before you begin writing your speech.

In terms of selecting research sources, it’s good to remember the three P’s: peer-reviewed , published , and prestigious . A peer-reviewed source is one that has been evaluated by a group of experts in the field of the writer. It has undergone the most stringent editing and fact-checking and, when first published, is the most up-to-date information in a field. A published source is one that has also usually undergone some editing before publication – though you’ll want to be wary of self-published sources and online publications (these usually don’t receive the same kind of scrutiny as printed texts).

Finally, it’s certainly okay to use online sources, but you want to make sure they are coming from a prestigious or at least well-known source like a national newspaper or even an established commercial website. A good tip for assessing a source’s quality is to check: does this source cite any outside resources in a works cited or in footnotes?

You want to be sure that you are able to cover a topic thoroughly, given the time and resources allotted. For example, if you have five minutes to give an informative speech to your psychology 101 classmates, you could choose a general topic like, “Why was Sigmund Freud important to psychology?” If you have an hour to give an informative speech at a professional psychology conference, you might provide a detailed account of Sigmund Freud’s most important contributions to a particular branch of modern psychology and explain its current significance to the field, including recent developments in research and clinical practice.

Finally, something crucial to consider is the emotional register of your speech. Is the subject matter something serious like an illness or climate change? Or is it a politically charged topic like immigration or gun control? Is it light, like “how to make pizza dough” or “the invention of the roller coaster?” Or is it merely intriguing or educating like, “personality typing and psychology,” “owning a poodle,” or “Ben Franklin’s top five aphorisms?” Gauging the emotional involvement of your audience will help you choose an appropriate informative speech topic for the project at hand and will ultimately let you craft a more effective speech.

The 126 informative speech ideas below run the gamut from broad to very specific and can all serve as starting points as you brainstorm what you’d like to give a speech on. Good luck!

Health & Medicine Informative Speech Topics

1) Ideas on curbing the spread of future global pandemics.

2) What is the endocrine system?

3) What is a physician’s assistant?

4) The importance of blood donation.

5) Disparities in healthcare between different demographic groups.

6) How did Marie Curie contribute to the medical field?

7) What is the role of nurses in primary care settings?

8) What subspecialties are there in women’s health?

9) What recent developments have been made in knee replacement surgery techniques?

Good Informative Speech Topics/Informative Speech Ideas (Continued)

10) What is Traditional Chinese Medicine?

11) Telehealth and patient outcomes in recent years.

12) How to MRI machines work?

13) Comparing healthcare systems in different countries.

14) The five most important cancer research innovations in the past five years.

15) What is a plague?

16) How does social media affect mental health?

17) What is the World Health Organization?

18) What are the differences between a midwife and an obstetrician?

STEM Informative Speech Topics

19) What are some important differences between commercial and government-sponsored space flight programs?

20) How do rollercoasters work?

21) The relationship between AI and defense.

22) How are robots used in surgeries?

23) How do you solve a quadratic equation?

24) Why are information systems an important part of modern marketing?

25) What recent innovations have been made in the field of machine learning algorithms?

26) How has cloud computing changed in the past five years?

27) What is the role of engineers in mining and extraction?

28) What is a black hole?

29) What is internal combustion?

30) How self-driving cars work.

31) What are some differences between aeronautical and aerospace engineers?

32) What is Euclidian geometry?

33) How is probability be used in sport management?

34) Why are we running out of helium?

35) What is the relationship between cybersecurity and national politics?

36) The most important uses of 3D printing?

Arts & Humanities Informative Speech Topics

37) What are the most likely interpretations of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be?” speech ?

38) What was the Dadaism movement?

39) Why is the Mona Lisa so popular?

40) The differences between highbrow, lowbrow, and commercial cultural production.

41) What are the major tenets of postmodernism?

42) The influences of Alfred Hitchcock on modern cinema.

43) What is the difference between “performance” and “performativity?”

44) What are the differences between an early novel and a romance?

45) Recent developments in literature and ecocriticism.

46) What is the debate on the Elgin Marbles?

47) In what ways was fashion an important element of the Belle Epoch era?

48) The top five most influential texts in speculative fiction.

49) What is pop art?

50) Who was Andy Warhol?

51) What is The Iliad ?

52) Postcolonial studies as an academic field.

53) The history of the Louvre museum.

54) Jane Austen’s narrators and free indirect discourse.

Psychology and Sociology Informative Speech Topics

55) What is the Enneagram and how is it used in therapeutic settings?

56) How did Pierre Bourdieu define “fields?”

57) What is the Panopticon?

58) What is intersectionality?

59) The role of psychologists in school settings.

60) How is behavior psychology related to consumerism and marketing?

61) What is gentrification?

62) The role of the pharmaceutical industry in psychiatric treatment.

63) Who was Sigmund Freud and why is he important?

64) What is the difference between clinical and research psychology?

65) What is the relationship between social media and mental health?

66) What is neuropsychology?

67) What is an ethnographic study?

68) How did Habermas define the public sphere?

69) What is multiple personality disorder?

70) What is are the “gaze” and the “mirror stage,” according to Lacan?

71) Describe the prisoner’s dilemma.

72) What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Nature and Environment Informative Speech Topics

73) What are some pros and cons of wind farming?

74) Why are microbiomes important for health?

75) What is an axolotl?

76) Death Valley: the hottest place on Earth

77) What threats do spotted lanternflies pose?

78) What are the most significant climate change “points of no return?”

79) Water conservation strategies in the American West.

80) What is biodiversity?

81) How do dolphins communicate?

82) Why was Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring significant for the environmentalist movement?

83) How was the Santorini caldera created?

84) What are plate tectonics?

85) How and why tornadoes happen.

86) What is the El Niño phenomenon and why is it important?

87) Fungus and blue spruce disease in Northeast Ohio.

88) What measures are being taken to curb deforestation in the Amazon?

89) How is the Galapagos ecosystem preserved today?

90) Floridian ecosystems and the Red Tide.

Business, Marketing, Finance and Economy

91) The role of sports merchandising in U.S. women’s Olympic events.

92) Subprime mortgages and the housing market crash of 2008.

93) What are the eight best steps you can take to better your personal finances?

94) Which social media platforms are most lucrative for marketing to each current online generation?

95) What is inflation?

96) What is the relationship between politics and the unemployment rate?

97) What is market saturation?

98) How do we measure the GDP of emergent nations?

99) What developments to we expect to see in the industry competition between EVs and regular automobiles?

100) What is an index fund? What is a mutual fund?

101) Bond holdings late in retirement.

102) The role of social justice in branding.

103) How does search engine optimization work for marketing?

104) Is the influencer economy a bubble?

105) Describe the differences between a CFA and a CPA.

106) What developments have we seen in start-up economies in the past five years?

107) What is embezzlement?

108) What is the history of human resource departments?

History and Travel

109) The religious persuasions of each of Henry VIII’s wives .

110) How the aqueduct system worked in ancient Rome

111) What are the tallest buildings in the world?

112) What was the Black Death?

113) The Watergate Scandal.

114) In what ways was the printing press an important invention?

115) What is the Chernobyl site like today?

116) What was the relationship between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla?

117) Why was the Great Wall of China built?

118) Who were medieval anchorites?

119) The political significance of whistle-stop train tours.

120) What was the significance of the Second Boer War?

121) The Tennis Court Oath .

122) What are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World?

123) Witch hunting in 1600s New England.

124) What was the Space Race?

125) Why are the bodies of Pompeiians preserved?

126) What is Machu Picchu?

Good Informative Speech Topics – Works Cited

[i] Lloyd-Hughes, Sarah. How to Be Brilliant at Public Speaking: Any Audience, Any Situation . Pearson Educated Limited, Edinburgh 2011.

[ii] Downs, Douglas and Elizabeth Wardle. “What Can a Novice Contribute? Undergraduate Researchers in First-Year Composition,” Undergraduate Research in English Studies (2010) pp. 173-90).

[iii] Graff, Gerard, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing . W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2006.

Informative Speech Ideas – Additional Reading

• 149 Capstone Project Ideas and Examples
• 100 Best Political Science Research Topics
• 64 Social Issues Topics 
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For the past decade, Jamie has taught writing and English literature at several universities, including Boston College, the University of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University. She earned a Ph.D. in English from Carnegie Mellon, where she currently teaches courses and conducts research on composition, public writing, and British literature.

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The fuzzy science on whether Fido is actually good for you

Research suggesting that pet ownership improves health is largely funded by the pet care industry. does it matter, by michael schulson.

This article originally appeared on Undark.

F or more than a decade, in blog posts and scientific papers and public talks, the psychologist Hal Herzog has questioned whether owning pets makes people happier and healthier.

It is a lonely quest, convincing people that puppies and kittens may not actually be terrific for their physical and mental health. “When I talk to people about this,” Herzog recently said, “nobody believes me.” A prominent professor at a major public university once described him as “a super curmudgeon” who is, in effect, “trying to prove that apple pie causes cancer.”

As a teenager in New Jersey in the 1960s, Herzog kept dogs and cats, as well as an iguana, a duck, and a boa constrictor named Boa. Now a professor emeritus at Western Carolina University, he insists he’s not out to smear anyone’s furry friends. In a blog post questioning the so-called pet effect, in 2012, Herzog included a photo of his cat, Tilly. “She makes my life better,” he wrote. “Please Don’t Blame The Messenger!”

Plenty of people believe there’s something salubrious about caring for a pet, similar to eating veggies or exercising regularly. But, Herzog argues, the scientific evidence that pets can consistently make people healthier is, at best, inconclusive — and, at worst, has been used to mislead the American public.

Few, if any, experts say Herzog is exactly wrong — at least about the science. Over the past 30 or so years, researchers have published hundreds of studies exploring a link between pet ownership and a range of hypothesized benefits, including improved heart health, longer lifespans, and lower rates of anxiety and depression.

The results have been mixed. Studies often fail to find any robust link between pets and human well-being; some even find evidence of harms. In many cases, the studies simply can’t determine whether pets cause the observed effect or are simply correlated with it.

Where Herzog and some other experts have concerns is with the way those mixed results have been packaged and sold to the public. Tied up in that critique are pointed questions about the role of industry money on the development of a small field — a trend that happens across scientific endeavors, particularly those that don’t garner much attention from federal agencies, philanthropies, and other funding sources.

The scientific evidence that pets can consistently make people healthier is, at best, inconclusive — and, at worst, has been used to mislead the American public, Herzog argues.

The pet care industry has invested millions of dollars in human-animal interaction research, mostly since the late 2000s. Feel-good findings have been trumpeted by industry press releases and, in turn, dominated news coverage, with headlines like “How Dogs Help Us Lead Longer, Healthier Lives.”

At times, industry figures have even framed pet ownership as a kind of public health intervention. “Everybody should quit smoking. Everybody should go to the gym. Everybody should eat more fruits and vegetables. And everyone should own a pet,” said Steven Feldman, president of the industry-funded Human Animal Bond Research Institute, in a 2015 podcast interview.

The problem with that kind of argument, Herzog and other experts say, is that it gets out ahead of the evidence (and that not every person is equipped to care for a pet). “Most studies,” said Herzog, “do not show the pattern of results that the pet products industry claims."

I t seems safe to say that most people don’t get a dog in order to marginally lower their odds of developing heart disease. Pet effect research falls into a strange family of science that measures the practical health outcomes of things people typically do for decidedly non-practical-health-related reasons, like get married or have children .

At the same time, there’s evidence — much of it anecdotal — that at least some people are cognizant of the potential health benefits when choosing to get a pet. And the idea makes intuitive sense to many people, who say their animals are good for their well-being. Concurrently, hospitals and nonprofits have rolled out programs that aim to use therapy dogs and support animals to improve people’s mental health.

James Serpell began studying the pet effect in the early 1980s, as a young animal behavior researcher. At the time, spending on pets was rising in the United States; people were beginning to treat pets more like family members. But there was little research on people’s relationships with their animals. “Why are we doing this?” Serpell wondered. “What’s it all about?”

In an influential 1991 paper comparing non-pet-owners with people who had recently adopted an animal, he supplied some of the first published data suggesting that new pet owners experienced a measurable reduction in minor health problems. New dog owners also pursued more physical activity, compared to people who had cats or no pets at all.

In the decades since, researchers have published dozens of studies comparing pet owners to non-pet-owners. The results are mixed — sometimes pointing toward health benefits, and sometimes not.

Some of that data may reflect the realities of human-animal relationships — which, like any other kind of relationship, can vary for all sorts of reasons. “It doesn't mean that my lived experience or anyone else's lived experience is wrong,” said Megan Mueller, a human-animal interaction expert at Tufts University. “What it means is that it's different for different people.”

For some people, she said, having a pet can bring stressors . The caretaking responsibilities may be too taxing; the pet may exacerbate family tensions or trigger allergies; the owner may be unable to afford pet food or veterinary care.

The results, some experts say, are also muddied by longstanding issues with research methods. The problem is that there are differences between the people who choose to own pets and the people who don’t.

“What happens is we try to compare people with pets, to people without pets, and then we say, ‘People with pets have X, Y, and Z differences.’ It actually is a really invalid way of approaching the research question,” said Kerri Rodriguez, who directs the Human-Animal Bond Lab at the University of Arizona. A study finding that cat owners are more likely to be depressed, for example, may be picking up on a real connection. But it could just be that people already experiencing depression are likelier to get cats.

Some of the data may reflect the realities of human-animal relationships — which, like any other kind of relationship, can vary for all sorts of reasons.

Today, Rodriguez mostly studies service animals, especially for veterans at risk for PTSD. In this context, it’s possible to conduct randomized trials — for example, randomly choosing who will get a support animal now, and who will go onto a waitlist to get a companion animal later. Some research on service dogs — including a recent controlled, but not randomized, trial that Rodriguez was involved with — has shown clear benefits.

How much those benefits apply to typical pet owners, experts say, is unclear. And it’s hampered by the inability to conduct those kinds of randomized trials. (“You can’t randomize people to pet ownership,” said Rodriguez.)

Rodriguez said she’s interested in studies that track the association between human-pet relationships and health metrics over time, checking in with people again and again and collecting larger amounts of data. One such study, for example, found a slower rate of executive decline among older pet owners.

Serpell, after his 1991 study, largely moved on to other research questions. “I basically concluded that this type of research was too difficult,” he said. “And even if you did it, the results you would get would always be questionable.”

T hose doubts have not deterred interest in the field from the companies that lead the pet industry, which is today valued globally at more than $300 billion.

Almost from the start, the quest to understand the pet effect has been entangled with industry money. Serpell’s earliest work was funded by what is now known as the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, a division of Mars, Inc., which owns a portfolio of pet food and veterinary care brands in addition to its famous candy business. “There was no other source of funding, really,” recalled Serpell, who’s now an emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “Nobody else was willing to put money into this field.”

In 2008, Mars entered a partnership with the National Institutes of Health in order to spur more research into animal-human interactions. In the first year, the pet product provider ponied up $250,000, while the federal government supplied $1.75 million. (The NIH partnership ended in 2022, although Mars continues to underwrite research on pets and human health.)

Almost from the start, the quest to understand the pet effect has been entangled with industry money.

In 2010, a group of pet industry heavyweights launched the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, or HABRI. Key funders have included Petco, Purina, and Zoetis, a veterinary pharmaceuticals firm. “Pets and animals make the world a better place, and we’re going to use science to prove it,” said founding director Steven Feldman in a 2014 talk at a conference for pet bloggers.

The nonprofit has spent more than $3 million funding research on human-animal interactions. Companies also directly fund university research: One prominent research lab at the University of Arizona — separate from Rodriguez’s research group — includes a sponsor page on its website featuring the logos of Nestle Purina, Mars Pet Care, veterinary drugmaker Elanco, and other pet product companies.

"Funding from the pet industry has transformed the field, and without it, we would not have the science that we have,” said Mueller. (Like Serpell and Rodriguez, Mueller has received industry funding for some of her research.)

Did that funding shape the field’s findings? “I think it has largely been done in a really ethical way,” said Mueller. She and Rodriguez both said they had never felt pressure to produce a particular result. Waltham, when it entered the partnership with NIH, gave up the right to select who would get the funding. Industry-funded studies have found — and published — results suggesting little benefit from pets.

"I really think that field has done a good job of publishing a lot of findings that are maybe not what people would expect,” said Mueller.

Herzog said he has seen little evidence that industry money has changed the science. Mostly, he said, “they’ve funded pretty good studies.” But there are ways it can change the field. "It's always been a source of great ambivalence, I think, for everybody involved,” said Serpell. “You try and work around it, by getting whoever funds the work to stay off your back and let you do the work, and if they don’t like the results, that probably means the next time you apply to them for funding, you won’t get it.”

The funding can shape the questions that the field asks — or avoids. “Industry-funded studies tend to produce results that favor the sponsor’s interest,” said Marion Nestle, an emeritus professor at New York University who has spent decades studying corporate influence on science. Sponsors influence what gets studied, Nestle said, and they select for studies that they think will produce positive results. And, she said, research suggests sponsorship can shape the way results are interpreted — often without researchers being aware of the influence at all.

Controlling the focus of the research can also steer scientists away from certain topics entirely. “For obvious reason, these companies don't wish to draw attention to the darker side of the human-pet relationship,” said Serpell, referring to research areas such as dog bites.

In a recent Zoom interview, Feldman, the HABRI president, said funders “can tell us what kind of things they're hoping to see,” and the organization will try to accommodate those requests. “But then, once the process of funding a project begins, there's absolutely no influence there whatsoever.”

Research suggests that sponsorship can shape the way results are interpreted — often without researchers being aware of the influence at all.

HABRI embraces negative results, or those that don’t show a clear effect from pet ownership, and not just positive findings, Feldman said. But, he acknowledged, they may choose to emphasize positive results. “We try and be very true to the science, but if we take a slightly more optimistic view as to the body of work than researchers who take a different perspective, I think that helps generate a lot of positive behavior in the real world.”

Herzog, Feldman suggested, was making a name for himself with naysaying — in ways that, perhaps, sometimes defy common sense. A 2021 HABRI survey found that nearly 9 in 10 pet owners report that their pets benefit their mental health. “I kind of think pet owners might be on to something,” Feldman said.

Herzog agrees that having a pet can have real benefits. At the end of a recent conversation, he reflected on his cat, Tilly, who died in 2022. She used to watch TV with him in the evenings, and she would curl up on a rocking chair in his basement office while he worked. The benefits of their relationship, Herzog said, were real but perhaps hard to measure — among the intangible qualities that are difficult to capture on research surveys.

"If you'd asked me, ‘Did Tilly improve the quality of your life?’ I'd say absolutely,” he said. “My health? Nah.”

This article was originally published on Undark . Read the original article .

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