ABSTRACT Introduction Oral health inequities have been persistently observed among individuals living in poverty. To most effectively deliver equity‐centred care, dental students must be aware of the impact that poverty can have on their patients. The objective of this study was to describe and deliver a virtual poverty simulation exercise to second‐year dental students prior to clinical experiences, and assess their perceptions of the exercise. Methods and Materials One hundred and thirty‐six second‐year dental students at a U.S. School of Dentistry participated in a facilitator‐led, virtual poverty simulation exercise utilising SPENT, a free online poverty simulation application and a facilitated post‐exercise discussion to connect concepts learned during the simulation to financial barriers encountered in the dental setting and equity‐based solutions that dentists can provide. Following the simulation exercise, students were invited to complete a voluntary 10‐item survey on their perceptions of the exercise. Results One hundred twenty students completed the survey (response rate 88%). For all survey questions but one, a higher proportion of students reported positive perceptions of the simulation compared to those reporting negative perceptions. An open‐ended question identified that students had improved empathy and a better understanding of the impact of income on healthcare choices after the exercise. Discussion Overall, a higher proportion of students reported positive perceptions of the simulation compared to those reporting negative perceptions. Across all post‐simulation survey questions, students' most frequent individual response was the ‘neutral’ Likert‐Scale response, indicating that many students were not fully confident in their understanding of poverty‐related concepts following the simulation exercise. Conclusions A virtual poverty simulation is an innovative method for introducing poverty concepts to pre‐clinical dental students. However, ongoing training throughout the dental curriculum is essential to increase students' confidence in delivering equity‐centred care to patients experiencing poverty.
D’Affronte et al. (Mon,) studied this question.