Dental materials science curriculum in Malaysia: Time for transformation

Abstract

Introduction: Dental materials science is one of the core courses for Malaysian undergraduate dental programmes, which has been primarily taught through a series of didactic lectures during the preclinical phase. In accordance with the newly revised national competency statement, Malaysian dental education is moving toward competency-based education, hence a reformation of the dental materials science curriculum is warranted. Methods: Curriculum design including common teaching, learning and assessments methods for the Malaysian dental materials science were described and analysed. The common practices were reviewed and compared with latest national guidelines and literature. Results: There is yet an initiative to establish a national curriculum for dental materials science. The use of traditional teaching strategies for this course also needs to be revamped from a teacher-centred to a student-centred approach. Furthermore, faculty members are facing significant challenges because the revamp requires them to explore cutting-edge pedagogical methods and develop appropriate learning opportunities, environments, resources, and assessments. Several recommendations are proposed, such as mapping the existing dental materials science curriculum to identify gaps, incorporating more hands-on sessions, implementing an integrated curriculum, introducing various formative and summative assessments, as well as recruiting faculty members with different areas of educational expertise. Conclusion: It is hoped that this article offers a clearer pathway for Malaysian dental educators to pioneer new insight and transform the existing dental materials science curriculum.