Purpose: Physician assistants (PA) are health care team members who often work in primary care. Providing oral health education to PAs during training could improve oral health for vulnerable patients who seek treatment in the primary care setting and who are less able to access dental care. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a peer-to-peer oral health curriculum taught by dental students to their PA student colleagues.
Methods: Dental students presented an interactive, case-based curriculum, followed by a hands-on oral examination training session. PA student feedback was obtained, and results were analyzed.
Results: Students found the content to be highly relevant and well presented. Conveying oral health competencies to future primary care providers may reduce oral health disparities.
Conclusions: PA students reported improved understanding of oral health and indicated they would incorporate what they had learned into their future clinical practice.