Implantology curriculum in India and worldwide at different levels of education

Aim Even though it has remarkable importance in practice, implantology is not given a crucial teaching in the dental curriculum. Therefore the aim of the present systematic review is to perform a content analysis and explore the status of implantology curriculum in India and globally at different levels of education.

Methods The major electronic databases were screened. All types of study including descriptive studies, surveys, reviews, commentaries, editorials were included. The risk of bias assessment in the present study was conducted by using the recommended approach. The two-part tool was used to address the six specific domains.

Result The present systematic review yielded 2000 articles on initial search; first, 976 duplicate publications were removed. After screening additional 968 articles were excluded, leaving 56 publications; 19 studies concentrating upon the current status of prosthodontic implantology curriculum at undergraduate, postgraduate and predoctoral level were included in this systematic review. Various forms of teaching were indicated in the included studies such as didactic form of training, preclinical or laboratory experiences in simulated forms using phantom heads or by performing necessary laboratory work related to implantology. Most of the undergraduate curriculum included didactic forms of teaching.

Conclusion Prosthetic implantology curriculum varies worldwide, but a large percentage of institutes agrees on certain topics. Almost 80% institutes across the world seem to have some form of implantology training as part of the curriculum. Various barriers were identified to implantology education by the experts and included difficulty of integration of additional program into already overcrowded curriculum, introduction of relevant content in suitable time frame, funding, adequate infrastructure and utilization of specialized faculty.