Celebrating the Pioneering Research of Associate Professor Antonio Celentano on Global Curricula for Special Needs Dentistry

The Melbourne Dental School is delighted to share the groundbreaking research conducted by Associate Professor Antonio Celentano, in collaboration with his outstanding students and colleagues from both the Melbourne Dental School and the Departments of Economics and Statistics, as well as the Department of Social Sciences (University of Naples Federico II, Italy).

"I am incredibly proud to have led this group of champions on this amazing two-year journey, which culminated in the publication of our study in the prestigious journal Special Care in Dentistry," expresses Associate Professor Antonio Celentano.

The study, published in Special Care in Dentistry, addresses the higher prevalence of oral diseases and unmet dental needs among Special Needs patients compared to the general population. Antonio emphasises, "Grossly inadequate training and experience in managing patients with Special Needs (SN) have been highlighted as significant barriers to accessing care."

This groundbreaking research is the first to globally map Special Needs Dentistry (SND) curricula, involving an extensive dataset extracted systematically from 180 countries and 1265 dental schools. Antonio points out, "Our study includes correlations between the socioeconomic status of countries and both the distribution of dental schools and the skewed incorporation of SND in specialised and non-specialised programs."

Highlighting the global implications of their findings, Antonio states, "These findings demonstrate vast opportunities for future development in this critical area to improve access to care for society’s most vulnerable. We believe that our findings highlight a globally untapped area for massive expansion in dental education."

Interested in reading the full text of this groundbreaking research? Learn more here.

The Melbourne Dental School congratulates Associate Professor Antonio Celentano and his team on their remarkable contribution to advancing dental education and improving access to care for Special Needs patients worldwide.