Future Perspectives of Anatomy in Dental Education: Quo Vadis?

Abstract

Anatomists have become familiar with an ongoing debate about the integration of basic sciences into the clinical context or vice versa. Although various educational modalities in dental school curricula and changes in curricular strategies challenge anatomists, the priorities in teaching anatomy and the emergency of presenting fundamental concepts in order to integrate students' basic science skills into the clinic led educators to develop new teaching methods. A search for improved efficiency and impact of the presentation of knowledge to the students in order to foster positive feedback should be one of the major responsibilities of the educators in basic sciences. New gold standards, such as computer-based learning tools and computer-assisted instruction laboratories, may provide trigger points for the perception of the audience in dental faculties. In the light of these considerations, Anatomy Society should rapidly communicate future perspectives.