Methods: A questionnaire based survey of a semi-structured design was designed. This was sent to the head of restorative/conservation department of each dental school in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. They were also contacted by e-mail to provide further details of the composition of the workforce in each centre. The study received ethical approval from the School of Health and Related Research, The University of Sheffield. Consent to participate in the research was implicit of the return of the completed questionnaire returned to the research team. The research questions were: What are the perceptions and experiences of senior clinical academics in delivering undergraduate education? What factors contribute to quality undergraduate education? What are the barriers and facilitators of educational provision? What are the implications of the study findings for programme delivery and the practice of clinical dentistry?
Results: A response rate of 60% was achieved. A number of factors were identified as contributors to the quality of undergraduate dental education and training. These were placed into five categories: Composition of the workforce; student numbers; patient demographics; multiple competing demands; and academic leadership and succession planning.
Conclusions: There is a consistent view amongst heads of department of conservative/restorative dentistry in the UK and ROI that the quality of clinical teaching is affected by a range of distinctly identifiable factors. Recommendations for an improvement of clinical teaching have been identified.
Financial support for this study was obtained from the British Association of Teachers of Conservative Dentistry and The University of Sheffield.