The Way We Teach Psychology to Dental Students

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the teaching of psychology to undergraduate dental students. This paper describes a course given at Sheffield University, where the topics covered have been chosen after consultation with practising dentists. Those areas which dentists find most troublesome include patients' anxiety, pain, and aspects of the dentist-patient relationship. The course aims to provide undergraduates with some background in the methods of the social sciences as well as to give practical information about psychological therapies.