Growing demand for student-centered learning (SCL) has been observed in higher education settings including dentistry. However, application of SCL in dental education is limited. Hence, this study ...aimed to facilitate SCL application in dentistry utilising a decision tree machine learning (ML) technique to map dental students' preferred learning styles (LS) with suitable instructional strategies (IS) as a promising approach to develop an IS recommender tool for dental students.
A total of 255 dental students in Universiti Malaya completed the modified Index of Learning Styles (m-ILS) questionnaire containing 44 items which classified them into their respective LS. The collected data, referred to as dataset, was used in a decision tree supervised learning to automate the mapping of students' learning styles with the most suitable IS. The accuracy of the ML-empowered IS recommender tool was then evaluated.
The application of a decision tree model in the automation process of the mapping between LS (input) and IS (target output) was able to instantly generate the list of suitable instructional strategies for each dental student. The IS recommender tool demonstrated perfect precision and recall for overall model accuracy, suggesting a good sensitivity and specificity in mapping LS with IS.
The decision tree ML empowered IS recommender tool was proven to be accurate at matching dental students' learning styles with the relevant instructional strategies. This tool provides a workable path to planning student-centered lessons or modules that potentially will enhance the learning experience of the students.
Abstract Background Growing demand for student-centered learning (SCL) has been observed in higher education settings including dentistry. However, application of SCL in dental education is limited. ...Hence, this study aimed to facilitate SCL application in dentistry utilising a decision tree machine learning (ML) technique to map dental students’ preferred learning styles (LS) with suitable instructional strategies (IS) as a promising approach to develop an IS recommender tool for dental students. Methods A total of 255 dental students in Universiti Malaya completed the modified Index of Learning Styles (m-ILS) questionnaire containing 44 items which classified them into their respective LS. The collected data, referred to as dataset, was used in a decision tree supervised learning to automate the mapping of students' learning styles with the most suitable IS. The accuracy of the ML-empowered IS recommender tool was then evaluated. Results The application of a decision tree model in the automation process of the mapping between LS (input) and IS (target output) was able to instantly generate the list of suitable instructional strategies for each dental student. The IS recommender tool demonstrated perfect precision and recall for overall model accuracy, suggesting a good sensitivity and specificity in mapping LS with IS. Conclusion The decision tree ML empowered IS recommender tool was proven to be accurate at matching dental students’ learning styles with the relevant instructional strategies. This tool provides a workable path to planning student-centered lessons or modules that potentially will enhance the learning experience of the students.
Poor oral health among Malaysian indigenous Orang Asli (OA) children may impact on their daily performances.
To assess the oral health status, related behaviours, and oral health-related quality of ...life (OHRQoL) among OA children in Cameron Highlands (CH), Malaysia, and to identify the predictor(s) for poor OHRQoL.
This was a cross-sectional study involving 249, 11-12 year old OA children from 4 OA primary schools in CH. The children completed a self-administered questionnaire comprising information on socio-demographics, oral health-related behaviours, and the Malay Child Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (Malay Child-OIDP) index followed by an oral examination. Data were entered into the SPSS version 23.0 software. Non-parametric tests and multiple logistic regression were used for data analysis.
The response rate was 91.2% (n = 227/249). The prevalence of caries was 61.6% (mean DMFT = 1.36, mean dft = 1.01) and for gingivitis was 96.0%. Despite the majority reported brushing their teeth ≥ 2x/day (83.7%) with fluoride toothpaste (80.2%), more than two-thirds chewed betel nut ≥ 1/day (67.4%). Majority of the children (97.8%) had a dental check-up once a year. Nearly three-fifths (58.6%) reported experiencing oral impacts on their daily performances in the past 3 months (mean score = 5.45, SD = 8.5). Most of the impacts were of "very little" to "moderate" levels of impact intensity with 90.2% had up to 4 daily performances affected. Most of the impacts were on eating (35.2%), cleaning teeth (22.0%) and relaxing activities (15.9%). Caries in primary teeth is associated with oral impacts among the OA children.
The 11-12 year old OA children in Cameron Highland had high prevalence of caries and gingivitis with the majority chewed betel nut regularly. Caries in primary teeth is associated with poor OHRQoL. Future programmes should target younger age group children to promote positive oral hygiene practices, reduce caries, and improve quality of life.
This study aimed to investigate the association between oral disease burden and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) among overweight/obese (OW/OB) and normal weight (NW) Malaysian ...adolescents. A total of 397 adolescents were involved in the two-year prospective observational cohort study. OHRQOL was measured through a self-administered questionnaire containing the short version of the Malaysian Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIPM). Body mass index (BMI) was used for anthropometric measurement. Whilst, decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index, Significant Caries Index (SiC), simplified basic periodontal examination (S-BPE), and gingival bleeding index (GBI) were used for clinical assessment tools. Higher dental caries prevalence was observed in the NW group while higher SiC was reported in the OW/OB group. Regardless of the obesity status, the prevalence of gingivitis (BPE code 1 and 2) was high in this study. A reduction of GBI prevalence was observed in the two-year follow-up results with an increased prevalence of OHRQoL impact in the OW/OB group compared to the NW group (p > 0.05). The findings from this study suggested that obesity status did not have influence over the burden of oral diseases and OHRQoL. It offers insights referring to the changes in adolescents’ oral diseases burden and OHRQoL.
Objective: To determine and compare the frequency distribution of various arch shapes in ethnic Malays and Malaysian Aborigines in Peninsular Malaysia and to investigate the morphological differences ...of arch form between these two ethnic groups. Methods: We examined 120 ethnic Malay study models (60 maxillary, 60 mandibular) and 129 Malaysian Aboriginal study models (66 maxillary, 63mandibular). We marked 18 buccal tips and incisor line angles on each model, and digitized them using 2-dimensional coordinate system. Dental arches were classified as square, ovoid, or tapered by printing the scanned images and superimposing Orthoform arch templates on them. Results: Th e most common maxillary arch shape in both ethnic groups was ovoid, as was the most common mandibular arch shape among ethnic Malay females. The rarest arch shape was square. Chi-square tests, indicated that only the distribution of the mandibular arch shape was signifi cantly different between groups (p = 0.040). However, when compared using independent t-tests, there was no difference in the mean value of arch width between groups. Arch shape distribution was not different between genders of either ethnic group, except for the mandibular arch of ethnic Malays.
Conclusions: Ethnic Malays and Malaysian Aborigines have similar dental arch dimensions and shapes. KCI Citation Count: 4
The indigenous Orang Asli (OA) children in Malaysia have poor oral health. This study aimed to evaluate their oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) in order to develop a suitable oral ...health promotion program. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 249, 11-12 year old OA children in Cameron Highland District, Malaysia. A 31-item questionnaire was used to assess their oral health KAP. Total scores for knowledge and attitude sections were described in percentages. The levels of percentage scores were categorized into "good" (80-100%), "moderate" (60-79%) and "poor" (<60%). The practice items were described individually in frequencies and percentages. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 22 software. Overall, 227 children responded with 91.2% response rate. The mean total score for knowledge section was 61.8% (SD = 8.2); 51.1% had "poor", 42.7% had "moderate" and 6.2% had "good" knowledge levels. The mean total score for attitude section was 70.3% (SD = 9.8); 19.4% had "poor", 61.7% had "moderate" and 18.9% had "good" attitude levels. For oral health practices, 190 (83.7%) of the subjects brushed their teeth ≥2x/day, 182 (80.2%) used fluoride toothpaste ≥2x/day, 128 (56.3%) consumed sugary foods ≥2x/day, 122 (53.8%) consumed sugary drinks ≥2x/day, and 84 (67.4%) chewed betel nut ≥once/day. This study showed the majority of subjects had poor and moderate oral health knowledge and attitude levels, respectively. The majority chewed betel nut. A school-based oral health promotion program is recommended to promote positive KAP and improve the oral health and well-being of the study population.
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FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, UL, UM, UPUK
A presented paper is reviewed for the Special Care Dentistry (SCD) teaching of dental undergraduates from different continents and compared it to the current SCD education scene in Malaysia. Related ...literature were reviewed together with the current updates of SCD in Malaysia as an overview to bridge the gap for SCD teaching, planning the learning outcomes, and the curriculum guidelines. It highlights the barriers, similarities, and the different approaches applied in Malaysia. Constructing the SCD curriculum and adhering to it is a challenge. Most countries will be bound to the local expectations and needs to be able to construct their national guidelines. The literature shows the difference in approach of teaching SCD globally. Different factors such as lack of SCD expertise, lack of disabled-friendly facilities, overloaded curriculum, and lack of educational resources were highlighted in the literature as factors that can halt the SCD education. Educators need to incorporate the learning outcomes, the local needs, and/or curriculum guidelines within their institutions to design the content of their own programs. The Malaysian experience can be an example of a southeast Asian approach in SCD education.
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