A Descriptive and Correlational Study Assessing the Integration of Digital Health into Brazil’s Dentistry Master’s Degree Programs

Abstract

Dental education faces a significant challenge in preparing future professionals for a world increasingly driven by Digital Health (DH) innovations. However, it is not known whether or how DH content is being included in the training of future dental teachers in Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of DH content integration in Brazilian Dentistry Master’s programs. From April to June 2023, data from the Sucupira platform and institutional websites were utilized to evaluate all Dentistry Master’s programs in Brazil. Statistical analysis assessed the impacts of five factors: geographical location, program type, administrative category, program score, and association with a Teledentistry unit on offering up-to-date content. Out of 92 identified programs, 77 had available documents for analysis. A total of 2,161 courses were found, 1,523 with detailed information. DH curricular content was found in 4 courses. No relationship was observed between the offering of DH and factors like program type (professional or academic) (p = 1.00), university administrative category (public or private) (p = .144), region (p = .638), program quality rating (p = .792), or association with a Teledentistry unit (p = 1.00). These findings highlight a concerning gap in the incorporation of DH-related content into Brazil’s dentistry master’s programs, underscoring the need to address this deficiency.